The good news is that I now have access to *two* brand-new CNC-controlled bending brakes, and have the training to use them.

The bad news is that the smallest bend radius in the tooling set is 3/16" (4.8 mm).

Since I am building from plans, can I substitute this bend radius? Are there any parts in the Cruzer that will suffer from fit and/or performance?

Thanks all.

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Brian,

Look at FAA publication AC 43.13-1B, page 4-14.
The table gives bend radii for different alloys in terms of sheet thickness.

Earnie

If you find you can not substitute the bend radius, you may be able to use 3D printed dies. It is not common yet, but from articles I have seen it appears to work for short runs.

something you might try, using a piece of light alum angle extrusion, use a router to get the radius you want, tape it to the 3/16" die using double sided tape. It would be best to polish the face of the angle after routing and coat the bending surface with a lubricant to keep the bending die and the alum sheet from galling.

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