A part that looks fine on a CAD screen doesn't always bend cleanly on a press brake. Over years of bending sheet metal, we've seen the same design issues come up again and again — and most of them are avoidable.
Every material and thickness has a minimum inside bend radius. Bend tighter than that, and the outside of the bend will crack. We tell our clients the minimum radius for their material and thickness when we quote, so the design can be adjusted before it's too late.
A hole that's too close to a bend line will distort when the metal forms — it becomes an oval instead of a circle. The rule of thumb is that the hole centre should be at least 2-3 times the material thickness away from the bend line. If you need a hole closer than that, we can drill it after bending instead of cutting it in the flat pattern.
On a multi-bend part, the order of bends matters. A bend that comes first might get in the way of the press brake on the second bend. We plan the bend sequence when we set up the job, and we flag any designs that will be difficult or impossible to bend in the right order.
The best parts we make are the ones where the designer asked us to review the design before it was finalised. Those parts bend cleanly, weld without distortion, and go together first try. The parts that cause problems are the ones that look good on screen but were never tested on a press brake.
We're not designers, but we know what works on our machines. Send us your design early, we'll tell you what will bend cleanly, what holes will distort, and what sequences will cause problems. That feedback makes your design better and makes our job easier — a win-win.
Get Your Design Reviewed