Sheet Metal Tip: The Hole Near Bend Tax

A sheet metal mistake that looks perfectly fine in CAD.

Until it reaches the press brake.

Place a hole too close to a bend and the material stretches during forming. What should be a round hole becomes an oval.

Now the manufacturer has to:
• move the hole
• add bend relief
• punch after bending
• or scrap the part

All of these add time and cost.

A simple rule some engineers learn the hard way:
Hole distance from bend approximately ≥ 2–3 × material thickness depending on application and other design/manufacturing limitations.