Mechanically Challenged. Could use guidance on robot platforms and brackets

You don't say weather you are bending aluminum or steel. You might make your bending tool for the thin materials. The home improvement stores carry inexpensive strips of soft steel lawn edging (4"x~7') that you could cut with a hacksaw to make two bending edges. Clamp your metal to be bent between the two bending edges using a vice, vice grip pliers, or similar, and then bend your metal over the edge. Harbor freight in the past had a similar small bending gizmo for ~$8.