Bending Aluminum Channel

To make this easier you d start with your 6061 material in the soft t 0 state.

Bending aluminum channel.

You can find your bend allowance with the following formula. See a list of the most common aluminum channel sizes available at eagle today. Eagle s aluminum channel stock is available in a variety of different sizes lengths and wall thickness. Aluminum channels are an excellent choice for applications that require strength and corrosion resistance.

Standard channel and miscellaneous channel are specified in similar fashions. Hand fabrication using heat. Say you re bending 0 25 in thick 6061 t6 aluminum to a 100 degree external angle 80 degree internal angle. Step 3 heat part until black soot goes away.

Chicago metal is the leading resource for steel and aluminum channel bending and more. Bending aluminum channel can be difficult. Channel sections asymmetry is the enemy of easy bending which is why channel sections can be so difficult to form see figure 5. Their severely asymmetric shape undergoes a large twisting force during bending and the legs try to move toward the central axis.

Bending aluminum channel into a helix is even more of a challenge. You d probably air bend by using a 3 0 in. Vintage travel trailer wheel well trim. I ve bent a fair amount of 6061 aluminum the trick i was taught was to heat it with oxy act torch.

We have the ability to bend channel the easy way against the weak axis and the hard way against the strong axis. We can bend all types of channel including aluminum stainless and carbon steel. Common aluminum channel sizes. π 180 x b x ir k x mt bend allowance ba where b is the angle complementary to your desired bend angle 1 to 180 degrees mt is the thickness of the material ir is the inside radius and k is the k factor.

An example callout for standard channel would be c12x20 7. Die opening with a relieved profile. You have now annealed your 6061 t whatever into t 0 and it should bend without cracking. Step 1 use just act.

Under extreme conditions it tends to crack. And coat the area to be bent with soot step 2 turn on o2 and set rose bud to a normal flame.