Authors: Rui Amaral, Abel D. Santos, J. Bessa Pacheco, Sara Miranda

Press Brake bending is a sheet metal plastic deformation process in which the geometric interpretation is simple, but the control of final geometry can be complex due to the interaction of different variables, either from the process or from the geometry. This procedure consists in bending the sheet metal to obtain a V-shape. The result of this bending is a part with an angle formed by the flanges, called bending angle. However, the amount of penetration to achieve the desired angle depends on the sheet natural bending radius and the amount of elastic recovery that occurs after removing the tool. In this article, the results presented describe the use of finite element analysis as a tool to predict the natural bending angle, as well as the respective springback. For validation and evaluation of the methodology, experimental results are considered.

Rui Amaral¹ | Abel D. Santos^1,2 | J. Bessa Pacheco² | Sara Miranda²
1 INEGI – Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial, Universidade do Porto
2 FEUP – Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto