Enter the bend allowance, material thickness, and bend angle into the calculator to determine the K Factor for sheet metal bending in Autodesk Inventor.
Inventor K Factor Formula
The following formula is used to calculate the K Factor in sheet metal bending:
K = frac{BA - (pi cdot T cdot (frac{A_r}{pi}))}{pi cdot T cdot (1 - (frac{A_r}{pi}))}Variables:
- BA is the bend allowance (mm)
- T is the material thickness (mm)
- A is the bend angle (degrees)
- A_r is the bend angle in radians
- K is the K Factor
To calculate the K Factor, you need to convert the bend angle from degrees to radians, then apply the formula using the bend allowance and material thickness.
What is a K Factor?
The K Factor is a ratio that represents the location of the neutral axis with respect to the thickness of the sheet metal being bent. It is a critical value used in sheet metal design to predict how the material will deform during bending. The K Factor varies depending on the material, the type of bending operation, and the specific machinery used.
How to Calculate K Factor?
The following steps outline how to calculate the K Factor:
- First, measure the bend allowance (BA) in millimeters.
- Next, measure the material thickness (T) in millimeters.
- Then, measure the bend angle (A) in degrees and convert it to radians (A_r).
- Use the formula to calculate the K Factor (K).
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem:
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
bend allowance (BA) = 5 mm
material thickness (T) = 1 mm
bend angle (A) = 90 degrees
