Stainless Steel Sheet Bending Guide

Stainless steel sheet bending is a processing technology that uses mechanical force to plastically deform stainless steel sheets. It is widely used in the manufacture of various metal products and parts. Due to the unique physical and chemical properties of stainless steel, its bending process also has the following significant characteristics.

1) High strength and high hardness

– Features:

Stainless steel has high yield strength and hardness, and requires greater pressure than ordinary carbon steel when bending.

– Influence:

Bending equipment needs to have a higher tonnage, and mold materials need to be wear-resistant.

2) Large rebound

– Features:

Stainless steel has a high elastic modulus and is prone to rebound after bending, causing the actual angle to deviate from the designed angle.

– Coping methods:

Compensate for rebound by increasing the bending angle.

Use special molds or clamping devices to reduce rebound.

3) Good ductility

– Features:

Stainless steel has high ductility and can be bent at a larger angle without breaking easily.

– Advantages:

Suitable for processing complex shapes and multiple bends.

4) Surface scratches

– Features:

The surface of stainless steel is smooth, but it is easy to be scratched or pressed by the mold during the bending process.

– Solution:

Use soft materials (such as polyurethane pads) on the mold to protect the surface.

Apply a protective film to the stainless steel surface.

5) Processing difficulty is proportional to thickness

– Features:

The thicker the stainless steel plate, the more difficult it is to bend, requiring greater bending force and higher equipment performance.

– Suggestions:

For thick plates, choose a large-tonnage bending machine.

Select the bending radius reasonably to avoid cracking caused by excessive deformation.

6) Strict requirements on bending radius

– Features:

Too small a bending radius may cause cracking on the stainless steel surface or internal stress concentration.

– Recommendation:

The bending radius should be 1-3 times the thickness of the plate, depending on the material properties.

Special uses require experimental verification of the optimal radius.

7) Poor thermal conductivity

– Features:

Stainless steel has poor thermal conductivity, and heat is not easy to dissipate during bending, which may cause local deformation.

– Response:

Use a cooling system or intermittent processing to avoid heat accumulation.

8) Processing direction affects bending quality

– Features:

Stainless steel has good ductility along the rolling direction and is prone to cracking when bent perpendicular to the rolling direction.

– Suggestion:

Bend along the rolling direction as much as possible.

For special-shaped bending parts, the processing direction can be adjusted through experiments.

9) High mold requirements

– Features:

The high hardness and high strength of stainless steel put forward higher requirements on the wear resistance and strength of the mold.

– Solution:

Use high-strength alloy steel molds.

Regularly check and maintain the mold to ensure a smooth and intact surface.

10) Tempering or work hardening effect

– Features:

Stainless steel may undergo work hardening during the bending process, increasing the difficulty of subsequent processing.

– Solution:

For materials with severe work hardening, tempering treatment is performed to eliminate stress.

Use the step-by-step bending method to reduce the amount of one-time deformation.

Stainless steel sheet bending has the characteristics of high strength, high rebound, and easy scratching due to its material characteristics, but through the reasonable selection of equipment, molds and process parameters, high-precision and high-quality processing effects can be achieved.

In actual production, fully understanding the characteristics of stainless steel and optimizing the process flow are the key to ensuring bending quality.