PRESS BRAKES
PRESS BRAKES FOR DUMMIES….Like me! By Dan Wheeler
Sometimes the toughest thing in life is having options. For somebody like me, having more than one option makes it tough to make a decision. Fortunately in the Press Brake world, we really only have five options. What makes this great is all the machines do the same thing, that’s form sheet metal. Here are the five different types of press brakes:
Mechanical (Flywheel Type) – Makes Full Revolution Hydraulic (Single and Dual Cylinder) – Straight Up/Down Motion Pneumatic (Requires Air from Compressor) Hydro-Mechanical (Mechanical Motion Assisted with Hydraulics) – Half Revolution Servo Driven (Servo Motor and Ball Screws)
So now the next questions – Which one is for me? What will do my job the best? How quickly can I produce parts? Fortunately, most will do everything you want if they have the right tonnage, length, opening and v-opening in the die. Next is what will do my job best? Example, a mechanical brake may be just fine for a welding shop doing a 90 here and there, as where a hydraulic brake may better suit an aerospace manufacturer putting out parts with high accuracy. Mechanical machines tend to run faster cycles but do not provide the accuracy that slower hydraulics do. So accuracy for some is more important than how fast we can produce a part. How do I know the tonnage and v-opening I will need to do a job? Well pretty simple in the days of the internet, Cincinnati, Inc. has provided a tonnage calculator on their website to make life easy. https://www.e-ci.com/press-brake-tonnage-load-calculator/ Press Brakes, unlike shears, can bend heavier material as length decreases, as long as you increase v-die opening. Other things to consider are the type of material you are using. Stainless steel requires 50% more tonnage than mild steel. Aluminum and more malleable materials often require less than mild steel requirements. Other things to consider when investigating press brakes, is back gauging and multi axis systems. For a welding shop, a manual back gauge might be fine. But for computer chassis manufacturers or aerospace companies, the part may require a multitude of bends and changes of angles. Many newer press brakes today run as many as 8 to 10 Axes, all integrated through the control on the machine. Lots of things to consider when buying a Press Brake, but most importantly, what will work best for you? Hopefully I kept this simple enough haha! 12
October 2018
***LOCATOR SPECIALTY***