Inquiry on metal rules for aluminum composite panel with aluminum skin and mineral core

[arthurQ4G75]

aluminium composite claaddingPleas

Hello everyone,

I am currently working on a project that involves using aluminum composite panels (ACP) with aluminum skin on both sides and a mineral core in the center. The ACP sheet comes in 4mm and 6mm thicknesses, with both having the same skin thickness of 0.5mm.

I am planning to fold the panels by cutting grooves using a grooving tool with a 4mm tip width and 3.2mm depth for the 4mm ACP sheet, and a 5.2mm depth for the 6mm ACP sheet.

However, I am unsure of the metal rules that should be applied for this type of material and groove dimensions. Can anyone provide guidance on what metal rules should be used for ACP sheets with these specifications?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

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[Phil.E · Accepted solution]

Hi,

This isn't something that is naturally covered by the sheet metal rules. As such, you may have to experiment to figure out how to reverse engineer a sheet metal rule from the results of your actual fabrication process.

This could be done by creating some test parts at nominal sizes, taking your best guess at a sheet metal rule, then actually making the parts and measuring them, and ultimately figuring out where CAD varies from real life parts, and make adjustments to the sheet metal rule.

In the end you should get a repeatable part, assuming your fabrication is just as repeatable.

Thanks for posting this. Maybe someone with experience using material like this can comment with their own tips.

[arthurQ4G75]

Thank you very much Phil!

[brianyUL99V · Accepted solution]

We model ACM as .030 Alum with a .361 K-factor. Then the bend lines are extended to create v-groove tool paths that are up .030/or right on the face. We are using an Onsrud CNC Router but should work with any router. ACM we use is 4mm/.1575" with .020 aluminum skin on either side, but we leave .01 core material when we v-groove.

[arthurQ4G75]

Thank you for your response and for taking the time to provide your insights on the metal rules for aluminum composite panels. I appreciate your help.

Regarding your recommendation to model ACM as .030 Alum with a .361 K-factor, could you please clarify what you mean by ".030 Alum"? Also, would it be possible for you to provide a drawing or illustration to better explain the recommended metal rules for ACP sheets with the specifications mentioned in my previous message?

Thank you once again for your assistance.

[arthurQ4G75]

I just wanted to update this thread to let everyone know that brianyUL99V's solution worked perfectly for me. I was initially hesitant to try it, but after inputting the given parameters into Fusion 360 and testing it out on my cutting, I was able to achieve near-perfect results that matched my theoretical drawing. Thank you so much, brianyUL99V, for your expertise and for sharing your knowledge with us. For those who are interested, the parameters we used were modeling ACM as .030 Alum with a .361 K-factor, We used an  CNC Router, the ACM we used was 6mm with .5mm aluminum skin on either side, and we left .3mm core material when v-grooving. Once again, thank you, brianyUL99V, for your invaluable help!

[brianyUL99V]

My pleasure, that’s awesome that it worked for you. I know it sounds a little weird and is a definitely a workaround, but the .030 comes from the height of the V groove bit off of the bottom of part or top of table. Did you export as a DXF or use fusion 360 on the solid unfolded model?

[Phil.E]

Just wanted to say thanks to @brianyUL99V for adding your knowledge to the discussion. Also thanks to @arthurQ4G75 for following up. This community is strong with contributions like yours. Kudos!

[arthurQ4G75]

Initially, I was confused about the .03 measurement you mentioned, but I later realized that it referred to inches. I converted it to 0.8mm, which is the actual thickness of the material I'm using, with .5mm for the aluminum skin and .3mm for the core. I export the design to DXF and input it into Vectric 2D. The only issue I face is that I spend a lot of time deleting the extra lines in the folding lines, and only keep the center of the folding line.

[brianyUL99V]

Look into DDK panel software. We only do the complicated panels in a Fusion360 or Inventor. The majority are processed in DDK which is legit game changer as far as ACM panels go.