Steps For Achieving The Perfect Press Brake Bend

By Author: Steve M Glassner
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Achieving a perfect press brake bend is a complicated task. And to accomplish it, you’ll require to follow several critical steps in a sequence. It means that you cannot skip any of these steps in the process. Each step is like a link in a chain. Adding these links step-by-step will form the whole chain. This is the reason why the success of every step depends on the success of its previous step.

To ensure the proper implementation of these critical steps, you require an advanced and robust press brake machine. For this, you can simply search “amada press brake for sale” on any search engine and get the best press brake machine for bending metals. Now, without any further ado, let’s have a look at the eight steps for achieving a perfect press brake bend.

Steps to Achieve the Best Press Brake Bend

Choose Metal Type

The first step is to choose the metal type. Different metal types have different properties which affect the way they react to stress. Metals also stretch when bent at different rates of force. The degree of this stretch depends on the material of metals. That’s why it is essential ...
... to know about the metal type material you’re going to use for the press brake bend. Apart from the metal material, the other factor determining the bend is the thickness of the metal, the shape of the die, etc.

Create Drawing

The next step is to create the drawing of your desired bend. You can do this by determining the shape of the bend that you want to produce. You can also use the previous reference drawings to ensure the preciseness and accuracy of the bend.

Choose the Bending Method

Choosing the most suitable bending method is critical in achieving a perfect bend. Most of the bending methods look identical, but they do have minor differences which sets them apart. Predominantly, there three types of bending methods:
Coining
Air Bending
Bottom Bending
The selection of the bending method will largely depend on what you’re going to make. Apart from these you also have to consider the following factors:
Tools available
Size of the metal
Type of metal

Determine Tonnage

The next step is to calculate the tonnage which is required to bend the material. The tonnage will also depend upon the material of the bending method. Tonnage charts are readily available on the equipment. If you don’t have one, then you can use the Press Brake tonnage calculator.

Assess Tooling Position

After determining the tonnage, you’ve to assess the tooling position of the material. If you need more tonnage than the concentrated load limit of the machine, then you’ve to go for the off-center. You can check if the press machine allows the off-center. If you don’t have one, you can simply search “ Amada press brake for sale” on any search engine. And get a press brake that comes with an off-center loading.

Install the Right Tooling

Once you make all the calculations, it’s time to set up the machine. This is the most time-consuming process. So, you must ensure that all your calculations are accurate. The manual setting up of parts will differ from machine to machine. If you’re missing a part of the machine, you can simply order Amada replacement parts to continue setting up the machine. If you’re still unsure how to set up the machine, you can consult the manual or ask any experienced press brake operator.

Enter Calculations

Once you set up the machine, you’ve to enter the calculations into your press brake machine. This step is highly dependent on the type of machine that you’re using. If you’re using an older machine, then it might require manual programming. However, the modern press brake machine comes with many things pre-configured.

Examine Your Bend

The last step is to examine your bend. You can do this with a test run to ensure that everything is perfect before it goes to mass production. If you find any kind of error or defect, then you should go back to the previous steps to find out the source of the error.

It may happen that the initial parts of the mass production will have some imperfections, and that’s normal. However, you must conduct post-run tests to ensure that all the parts are meeting your standards.

Conclusion

Achieving a perfect bend is a step-by-step process where you must get the previous step right before moving to the next one. While implementing these steps, you might encounter some defective parts of the machine that can slow down the process. You can overcome this challenge by replacing those parts with amada replacement parts.

I hope this guide helped you to understand all the steps involved in the process of getting a press brake bend. If you have any questions or queries, you can post them in the comment section

Steve M Glassner is the General Manager of Alternative Parts Inc, the leading manufacturer and distributor of Amada machinery replacement parts. Steve is a Machine Tools industry enthusiast and frequently writes about various aspects of the industry.