4 Press Brake Bending Basics You Need to Know

Material Type:

Make sure the correct material type is defined in the machine controller each time you bend. This makes a lot of sense for the controller because it calculates tensile strength, yield strength, springback and countless other factors based on the material type. For example, if you are bending S304 stainless steel but are programming the controller with "mild steel", you may get poor results and need to overcompensate or even scrap the material. Therefore, the correct material type is critical for successful brake bending applications.

Figure 1   Different Material types

Material Thickness:

As important as the material type, the material thickness is equally important to the success of the bending machine. The thickness of sheet metal varies from country to country. 'Gauge" "Inch" "mm" is usually used to indicate the thickness. The thickness provided by the supplier may vary by 5%, but it is still acceptable and "within the range". However, for sheet metal more than 10 inches (3200mm), 5% bending +/ -0.5 ° will have a huge impact on the bending machine, resulting in inaccurate accuracy. Therefore, it is necessary to measure your material correctly and enter the decimal point of the actual thickness of the material to ensure that you get the correct result from the bending machine the first time.

Figure 2   Material thickness

Tool :

Many bending problems can be directly related to tool inaccuracies. We suggest that the plates with higher bending hardness, such as stainless steel and alloy plates, need to be equipped with better bending machine dies. If you want the best results from a bending machine, use the most accurate tool you can buy. The better material mold, while more expensive, has a longer life, is more durable, is very repeatable when disassembled/replaced to the bending machine, and is very flexible because it is segmented, equipped with different lengths, and after permutations and combinations, allows for any side flange forming possibility. It is recommended that you choose a high quality bending machine tool, which will have a service life 3-5 times longer than a cheap tool, while providing you with years of reliable bending.

Figure 3   Segmented upper die and lower die

Crowning:

In order to have higher accuracy for Press brake bending,Press brake crowning devices compensate for the inherent “flex” of the bed downard in the middle against the tonnage forces the ram is applying. Whether you have a hydraulic or mechanical Crowning device you will enjoy the capability to quickly and accurately adjust for higher accuracy of your products.

Figure 4   Hydraulic (UP) and Mechanical(Down) crowning