I want to design and manufacture a bent sheet metal part in the most accurate way possible. Once the part’s design is completed, I flatten the sheet, obtain the dxf, and cut it using laser cutting or punching. My goal is to find the correct sheet metal development. There are three different methods when modeling sheet metal bends: “Bend Allowance”, “Bend Deduction”, and “K Factor”. How can I determine with which method I should design, or do these three methods actually yield the same result? Another issue is when calculating the K factor, it also asks for the sheet metal development measurement, but how can I know and write this in the formula when the value I want to find is the sheet metal development itself? We have different beds and blades in the press brakes we use in manufacturing. Should I make separate calculations for each bed and blade? Or should I decide during the design phase that this part will be bent with this mold and this blade, and create the bends in the design files according to the calculation we have previously made? In short, what path should be followed to design and manufacture a bent sheet metal part?
(We generally use 2-3 mm sheets in manufacturing and our blades have a 0.8 radius, press brake machines.)