Will a groove in a PVC board hold dimensions when the board is bent?

[acesareking]

If I cut the groove shown in the drawing when the 12 foot PVC board is flat, will the groove maintain it's dimensions if I then bend the board into an 8 foot diameter capital C shaped semi circle?

 

[mk3223]

IMO, to maintain the shape of the groove while bending the board, one may need to have a good control of the heating method if any in the bending process and some sort of guides needed to keep the dimensions as wanted.

 

[TugboatEng]

It's going to change some, probably not much. If you need a lot of precision take a small section with with a groove, bend it to the same radius, and verify results. If you're going into mass production you may consider shaping your groove so that it deforms into the correct shape.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Yes, you risk distortion along the edges of the bottom of the groove considering that its depth is greater than a third of the thickness of the plate. In this case, the likelihood of 'plastic' (no pun intended) deformation is very high.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[3DDave]

Fairly easy to route or dado the slot after bending, unless this is on the inside of the bend. If so, make a piece to fit into the groove as the part is bent.