Sheetmetal shape fabrication question.

[itsmoked]

Wow! Just found this forum!
I gotta say eng-tips directory is pretty bizarre and incomprehensible to me....

Anyway I'm working on a product that has gobs of sheetmetal involved. I've learned a lot about the subject lately, however one form I need is pictured below. It drops into another larger sheetmetal form that is essentially a U. I routed this out on my little CNC router and bent it up. The idea was one piece routed then bent. For reference it's about 6 inches long.

It's adequate to the task. (battery holder)

It was a little weird to bend.

Anyway my question is can this shape be bent in your normal SM shop with conventional breaks and press breaks, or do I have to change it somehow?

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[telecomguy]

Doesn't appear to be difficult to manufacture depending on your tolerance requirements. Just about any sheetmetal shop should be able to help you. Also, you appear to be using aluminum and a tight bend radius. Relax the bend radius if possible so you don't get stress fractures.

<tg>

 

[itsmoked]

Thanks telecomguy.

I am just having trouble picturing how to bend this up without having the break structures get in the way.

My sharp bends are due to my "vice break". lol

When I formed it up the vise jaws ran into other parts of the structure but by dinking around I got it back to shape.

I hate designing things that cost more to build than they should due to ignorance.(mine)

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[telecomguy]

It would require some reliefs in the tooling usually achieved by using a segmented or customized punch/die setup.

<tg>

 

[Heckler]

Keith,

What is the weight of the battery pack and will this assembly see any harsh environments (shock, or vib). What material do you plan to use? 5052-H34 or ?????

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[itsmoked]

Hi Heckler.

Battery weighs 5.8 lbs

The material is 5052. I went to local sheetmetal place and asked for 5052 0.062" Not sure if it's H34. (should it be?)

It is a hand held instrument mounted in a Pelican case. I'd like it to survive a drop from the hand while carrying it. If it falls off someones car hood, roof, or high table.. Too bad for the user. lol.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Tunalover]

itsmoked-
The temper is H32, not H34. With this you can get less than a 1t (one thickness) inside bend radius. Talk to the fabricator; often they can do better than that without trouble.


Tunalover

 

[Heckler]

Itsmoked,

Just make sure the material used is not 5052-0. 5052 is the most common sheeted Aluminum used for sheetmetal products. It's available in numerous tempers H32, H34, H36 & H38. I would check

http://www.matweb.com

for the specifics. I've done structural sheetmetal design (747 equipment racks) using 2024-T3 and that was a real challenge finding a shop that knew what they were doing. Some shops are just hacks and they want to charge you good money for junk.

I would still look into adding some gussets just to be save......their is something about stored energy that can be potentially dangerous. I'm assuming this battery is a NiMH?

What industry does your company serve?





Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[itsmoked]

Thanks tuna, Heckler.

It's a lead acid battery. Hence the disgusting weight. lol
Nice link BTW.

Industry.. No specific industry as we have a broad range of knowledge. We've done jobs in semiconductor equipment, food, biology, chemical, packaging, fiber optics, oil production, space, and refrigeration to name some.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Heckler]

Keith - I'm sure you already know this but lead acid batteries breath during charging at some rate. This will corrode equipment around the battery. So sealing the battery from other components is really critical. I was part of a design team for an airbourne UPS system. We used Hawker Military batteries and it was an eye opening experience. The FAA are really uptight about stored energy. Best of luck

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[itsmoked]

Thanks Heckler, These are gel cells that put out no evil mists. It is also kept open to air during charging.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com