On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:03:02 +0000, lemel_man
wrote:

I have a stainless steel tube (has 316L written on it) 1.25" (31.75mm)
OD 3mm wall thickness, held horizontally at one end. What is the maximum
load that can be applied 33" from the support before the tube is
permanently bent?
I used to have a simple program that would work this out, but can no
longer find it.


You won't be able to get any closer than a very wide range without
knowing the yield strength of the specific material. Cold work, and
thus the method of processing your tube, has a large effect on
stainless steel's yield.

I used to buy SS ornamental tube from two mills - an older place that
induction welded the seam, and a more modern plant that used TIG. The
induction welding annealed the entire tube, and there was a remarkable
difference in the effort required to bend the tubing from the two
suppliers. (We were bending with a Hossfeld hand bender, building
hardware for boats.)

--
Ned Simmons