Bend Radius and Fusion's Sheet Metal module

[ZephyrSurfer]

I've been looking for a more powerful CAD tool for my 3D printing. I'm a Mac user, though I do keep a relatively capable Windows 11 laptop to work on my car since that software is Windows only. I had Solid Edge, Shapr3D, and Fusion on my short-list.

I'm really drawn to Shapr3D since it is so easy to use, and I was about to go that direction until I ran across a Sheet Metal K-Factor video for calculating cuts for folded sheet metal parts. ok, that's cool and sets it apart from Shapr3D. Especially if it I can design a part and have it print out where the bend-lines are as well as the overall flat-plane dimensions.

So, has anyone used it to get the 2D pattern and lines for bending sheet metal? They list a "K-Factor" for calculating the bend radius of various metal sheet, but I'm curious if they have embedded the proper math do follow the FAA spec of AC 43-55 on bend radius. The YouTube video I ran across said the user would need to experiment with setting the "k-factor" until they got a satisfactory result with the material they are bending.

 

[terrye]

"K factor" in CAD software is a bit of a black art. I'm using Solidworks and it defaults to 0.50. I usually change it to 0.45 (toward the inside of the bend) and have had good results with 2D stretchouts, but I don't have a CNC brake and am not making precision parts (like Vans), mostly just brackets. I think Vans in the past used Solidworks, I don't know if they still do. In any case, the "K factor" needs to be adjusted in the CAD model with some test bends to verify. I suspect the second decimal point would change depending on the alloy but haven't tried this.