These recommendations are presented in tables like the one below. To use them correctly, you need to know the steel grade, plate thickness, and—most importantly—whether you are bending transversely or longitudinally to the rolling direction.
In SSAB's bending recommendations, a value called Rp is provided. This represents the minimum punch radius to be used during bending.
Sometimes, the value of Ri is also stated. This is the guaranteed minimum final inner radius that the steel grade can achieve without cracking.
Below is an example of how to use our recommendations for bending Hardox® 500 Tuf along the rolling direction.
The bending properties of a material can vary depending on the direction in which it is bent relative to its microstructure or grain structure. This behavior is often attributed to the orientation and alignment of the grains within the material.
In many metals, the grains are elongated in the rolling direction. As a result, the material typically exhibits better mechanical properties—including bendability—when bent transversely (across the rolling direction).
These differences are reflected in SSAB’s bendability recommendations, where the recommended punch.
Maximum plastic deformation in the material occurs early in the bending process—often after only a small amount of bending.
It is therefore important to always use the minimum recommended punch radius to ensure proper forming and to avoid damaging the material.
The information in this report is only applicable to SSAB’s products and should not be applied to any other products than original SSAB products.
This report provides general results and recommendations for SSAB steel products. This report is subject to SSAB’s Terms of Use. It shall be the user's responsibility to verify that the information contained herein is correct and is suitable to be used for the particular purpose and application of the user. The report is intended to be used by professional users only who possess adequate expertise, qualification and knowledge for the safe and correct use of the results and recommendations in this report. This report is provided “as is”. The use of the report is at user’s own discretion and risk and that users will be solely responsible for any use of this report. SSAB disclaims any liability for the content or potential errors of this report, including but not limited to warranties and condition of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or suitability for individual applications. SSAB shall not be liable for any kind of direct or indirect damages and/or costs related to or arising therefrom, whether special, incidental, consequential or directly or indirectly related to the use of, or the inability to use, the report or the content, information or results included therein.