Designing Sheet Metal Brackets for Laser Cutting
A bracket is a flat shape that becomes 3D with a bend. Designing it well means designing the flat blank well.
A bracket is a flat shape that becomes 3D with a bend. Designing it well means designing the flat blank well, before any bend happens.
Keep it simple to cut
- Space holes from the edge by at least one material thickness
- Avoid features smaller than the material thickness
- Keep a small radius on inner corners — a laser cannot make a perfect sharp corner
- Nest parts to use the sheet efficiently
A bracket designed as a clean flat blank cuts in seconds. The same bracket with tight holes near edges and zero corner radii costs more and cuts slower.
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More in Sheet Metal
Sheet Metal Laser Cutting Basics
A fiber laser cuts flat sheet with no tooling and fast setup — the default for brackets, enclosures, and flat parts.
Bend Relief and K-Factor in Sheet Metal
When sheet bends, the outside stretches and the inside compresses. Two concepts decide whether your blank unfolds to the right size.