On 17/09/2011 19:16, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article
,
wrote:

On Sep 17, 10:03 am, Kristian wrote:
On 9/17/2011 19:49, Alyson wrote:

What type of metal rod/strip could I insert in a pad that could then
be molded to fit a knee without breaking when bent and unbent
repeatedly?

Just design it so that stress stays elastic..
After that take cyclic fatigue into consideraton..

Some spring steel flat might be a good start..

Thanks...
Would spring steel hold its shape in order to hold the pad on my knee
until I wanted to unbend it to take it off?

There is no metal that will do this forever. But soft aluminum wire is
pretty good, and cheap. Art stores sell such wire for use as armatures
in plaster sculpture.

Black or galvanized iron wire is also pretty good, in the thicker
grades. McMaster-Carr is a good source.

You will also need wirecutting pliers and a file (to smooth the cut ends
of the wire).

Joe Gwinn

Excellent advice. Pure lead is pretty good too. If you are old enough to
remember the flexi-curve rulers used by draughtsmen, these had two thin
strips of spring steel, one each side of a square lead core (the whole
lot encased in PVC). The sheet lead used for roof "flashing" is pretty
ductile.