Calculating K Factor For Sheet Metal

This change in sheet length depends on the position of neutral axis or k factor.

Calculating k factor for sheet metal.

K factor plays a key role in understanding the limits a material can handle during sheet metal bending. Bending angles greater than 90 degrees. And by having t and the sheet thickness t we can calculate the k factor as follow. It allows you to anticipate the bend deduction for a large variety of angles without having to rely on a chart.

Whereas the outer surface is stretched. As a result overall sheet length increases. The part of the material that bends. Best way to calculate k factor in sheet metal is by reverse engineering.

The k factor is the most important and elusive variable of bending because it varies both as a function of the material and according to parameters such as angle and tooling. Calculate k factor bend allowance and y factor for sheet metal bending. The k factor is the ratio between the distance from the neutral layer to the bent inner surface and the thickness of the sheet metal. Therefore using k factor there is no need to calculate sheet metal flat length manually.

In order to find the k factor you will need to bend a sample piece and deduce the bend allowance. Sheet metal flat length can be calculated using cad softwares. For example if the value of k factor for given material thickness and bending machines is known. Input material thickness and and inner radius to get the data of k factor y factor neutral layer.

As shown in figure 1 below k t t. To calculate the neutral axis distance from the inner face t we can subtract inside bend radius from r. Like previous scenarios let s start by calculating leg length 1. When sheet metal is bend the inside bending surface is compressed.

Since the k factor is based on the property of the metal and its thickness there is no simple way to calculate it ahead of the first bend. K factor in sheet metal bending is a constant that is used to calculate sheet metal flat length. Then input leg length a and b to get the flat size of the sheet. Then input the bend angle to get the arc length bend allowance and bend deduction.

Typically the k factor is going to be between 0 and 5. The k factor is defined as a constant that is greater than 0 and less than 1. The k factor is fundamental to designing precise sheet metal products.