Eliminate Sharp Corners for Rugged Defense Design

In defense hardware, sharp internal corners are a leading cause of fatigue failure. While a square corner might pass static load checks, vibration and thermal cycling concentrate stress there.

The stress concentration factor for a sharp corner approaches three or more, meaning local stress is triple the nominal level. In an aircraft pod or tank electronics enclosure, that's a crack waiting to happen.

The fix is simple: specify a generous internal radius. Typically, use at least 0.5 times the section thickness, and as large as your tool can handle. This applies to machined pockets, brackets, and sheet metal forms.

Communicate the radius on the drawing, and inspect it. Many machine shops default to a small radius unless told otherwise. Defense reviewers often check this before design release.

#WorkshopTools# #Automotive# #Aerospace#