Engineering calculator

Bending Force Calculator

Estimate the force required for an air-bending setup from material thickness, bend length and die opening, then confirm tooling and machine limits before production.

Air bending: load P, thickness S and V-die opening

Relationship between V opening and plate thickness

(1) S < 10 mm, V opening = 8 × S
(2) 10 mm ≤ S < 25 mm, V opening = 10 × S
(3) S ≥ 25 mm, V opening = 12 × S

Reference chart

Bending Force Chart

Use the chart as an initial force estimate.

V	B	R									S
			0.5	0.6	0.8	1	1.2	1.5	2	2.5	3	3.5	4	4.5	5	6	8	10	12	14
4	3	1	41	59
6	4	1	27	39	69	108
8	6	1		29	52	81	117
10	7	2		23	42	65	94	146
12	8	2			35	54	78	122	217
14	10	2				46	67	104	186	290
16	11	3					59	91	163	254
18	13	3						81	144	226	325
20	14	3							130	203	293	398
24	17	4							108	169	244	332	433
28	20	5								145	209	284	371	470
32	23	5								127	183	249	325	411	508
36	25	6									163	221	289	366	451
40	28	7										199	260	329	406	585
45	32	8										177	231	293	361	520
50	35	8											208	263	325	468	832
55	39	9												239	295	425	756
60	42	10													271	390	693	1083
65	46	11													250	360	640	1000
70	49	12														334	594	929
80	57	13														293	520	813	1170
90	64	15															462	722	1040	1416
100	71	17															416	650	936	1274
120	85	20																542	780	1062

Note

The chart uses kN; the
press brake
tonnage shown is an estimate; confirm the force, tooling and machine limit for your part.
The table assumes 1 m of material with tensile strength 450 N/mm². Confirm force, tooling and safety margin for your part with ADH.