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I just picked up a 3 in 1, 30" Dayton brake, shear, roll. I bought it with the hopes of using it to bend up some aluminum 4 fuel cells and similar. I was originally planning on building my fuel cell in .090 5052 aluminum. But I really doubt that this piece of equipment can bend that in a 27 inch wide sheet. Which is the widest point of the fuel cell. I'm now thinking of using .0625 3003 aluminum for the possibility that it will actually bend it.

I have read in a few places that 3003 forms much easier than 5052. Does anybody here have direct experience with this and can confirm it? Also, does anybody here have a similar 3 in 1? I only see the cheapo Harbor Freight ones. This one seems to be built a little bit better but still extremely identical.

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Plans: Single Rotor turbo sub 1000lb machine!

Also, from what I read on similar pieces of equipment. It should be able to bend 20 gauge steel at the full length (30").

So I was thinking of using 20 gauge stainless instead of aluminum since it would be about the same weight if I used the .062 aluminum.

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Plans: Single Rotor turbo sub 1000lb machine!

I've shaped 3003 and 5052 and found them to be nearly equivalent. 5052 may require annealing sooner than 3003.

If the brake is rated for 20 ga carbon steel, it probably can't bend 20 ga stainless steel which is considerably harder.

I don't remember the aluminum thickness that can be bent on a 20 ga carbon steel rated brake but 16 ga alum should work well; maybe 14 ga.

I found a tonnage calculator through a Google search that estimates the force needed. The calculated tonnage for 3003 is 2 US Tons. And 5052 H32 was 4. So it should be easier to form 3003. What's weird is that 6061 was only 3....? I though it would of been higher than 5052 by at least 50%. But what do I know?

This is for a sheet that is 27" wide and .0625" thick. It also has a lower tensile strength. Which is what counts when looking for what will bend easier.

I'm going to use .0625", 3003 to make my fuel cell.

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Plans: Single Rotor turbo sub 1000lb machine!

You pick your battles. I recommend using the material you want (based upon safety and weight goals) and taking it to a sheet metal shop to have it bent. Forcing everything to be fabricated on a lightweight bender is too much of a compromise when safety's on the line. FWIW, my fear of fuel leaks led me to go with 0.062 stainless for my tank.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

...mine led me to buy one out of a catalog

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The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Which makes perfect sense if the cost of the material and the shop's labor end up being more than an off-the-shelf solution. Had I bought a proper fuel cell, it would have been $2300, so that was off the table.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

My tactic so far is to get the thing close, and then seal it w/ Kreem or something.

As I recall, 18ga steel for mine. I dropped it into a 1" square tube cage for a bit of extra protection.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

Just so nobody else gets surprised, 6061 doesn't like to make sharp bends. My experience was with .090" thickness, and we found that we needed to get to a 1" inside radius to not have (2) pieces when we were finished. I expect thinner material is more forgiving, but don't know what the relationship between material thickness and inside bend radius looks like.

JustDreamin

Aluminum cold bend radii for grade/temper:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/aluminumalloy.pdf

General aluminum info:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/mepages/aluminfo.php

Great link. Aircraft Spruce has some very useful information available in their catalog.

I should have been more specific that my experience was with 6061-T6 sheet, utilizing press brakes performing air bending. Mostly, it was by accident, somebody pulled the wrong material .090" 6061-T6 instead of 5052-H34 from the rack, ran it through the turret press, and then tried to bend it and it didn't do what it was supposed to do (it became 2 pieces, instead of a bent part). Inside bend radius was pretty aggressive (I'm going to guess 1/2 T) but 5052 always tolerated it. 6061 did not.

JustDreamin