My team is looking to make our own custom c channels for a part of our robot. Today I tried using a sheet metal break to bend a piece of flat 1x5x25 aluminum into the shape that I desired but was unable to get corners anywhere near as sharp as I wanted. I know they cant be perfect but the corners I got were quite round. Has anyone else on here successfully bent their own c-channels out of aluminum? and if so how did you get sharp corners?
Why do you need to do this? Because there may be better ways of doing it
I was asked by a team member to make 2x1x2 c-channels. I’m not sure what for yet.
Whenever you’re cutting and bending , always ensure you reeeaally need the piece and no efficient alternatives exist.
That being said… putting the plate in a vice and uniformly tapping it with a mallet will produce a crisp bend to any desired angle. To flatten out (in case a part acquires a slight bend), put the plate on an anvil and flatten with a hammer.
(Attached is an example of a 3x1 I made for a claw.)
Just curious why you did not use the Vex 1X3X1 C channel. Was this before they came out with it? By the way, I like yours better as it has all the holes which gives you more options.
http://www.robotmesh.com/vex-aluminum-c-channel-1x3x1x35-2-pack
We had recently done a VEX order, had tons of flat plate, and didn’t want to do another order.
(living in Hawaii doesn’t help the shipping cost, so we end up adjusting more than the average team) 
Looks hella clean. Great job!