Air Bending of Sheet Metal

摘要

This paper presents an overview of important aspects of air bending of sheet metal parts. Air bending is potentially a very flexible process when it comes to processing small batch sizes with a high variety. However, to exploit these benefits requires that both the processing of individual bends and the overall processing of apart be executed adequately. Important aspects are the bending process itself in particular modeling and the calculation of punch penetration and bend allowance, the determination of bending sequences, and tolerance reasoning. Some problems related to spring back in air bending may be solved by combining it with for instance laser forming. Some problems related to bend sequencing or accuracy may be solved in the design stage.