How to Bend Stainless Steel Sheet?

How to Bend Stainless Steel Sheet?

Stainless Steel Sheet can be bent when heated to a red-hot temperature. Due to its lower thermal conductivity and reduced elongation compared to mild steel, greater forming force is required. Additionally, 321 Stainless Steel Sheet exhibits stronger springback tendencies than carbon steel during bending.

Because Stainless Steel Sheet has lower elongation than carbon steel, the bending radius (R) must be larger to avoid cracking. Its high hardness and significant work-hardening effects demand the use of tool steel with a heat-treated hardness of at least 60 HRC for bending tools. Furthermore, the surface finish of the bending dies should be one grade higher than those used for carbon steel.

Carbon steel has poor tempering stability—when undergoing quenching and tempering, a lower tempering temperature is needed to maintain high strength, resulting in reduced toughness. Conversely, using a higher tempering temperature improves toughness but compromises strength, leading to suboptimal overall mechanical properties. In contrast, Stainless Steel Sheet requires careful balancing of heat treatment parameters to achieve optimal strength and toughness.