Stormin Mormon wrote:

Bend first, punch holes later?
Where accuracy of hole placement on the final, bent piece is
tight, then this is the only way to do it. If .05" is acceptable,
then you CAN do it by milling/punching it flat and bending after.
You may have to make a test article and bend, then adjust the work
stop for additional parts. You may need to do this "bend calibration"
step for each batch of aluminum. You will also need to make sure EACH
piece of aluminum is oriented with the rolling "grain" in the same
direction. Once set up and calibrated like that, you can probably hold
..020" tolerance pretty consistently, if the brake is in good shape.

I do this sort of stuff in a home shop with well-used equipment, and
it works out pretty well. But, if the hole location relative to the
bend is critical, I bend first, then machine.

Jon