Content tagged with "press-brake"
Results: 25
Article
April 1, 2010
A safer way to bend bar stock in a press brake
Figure 1 Putting multiple bends into round barstock is a test for the most skilled operators. For less experienced operators, the task can turn into a very frustrating event if no guidance is available. General industrial education differs from one vocational program to the next, so no... Read more...
Article
February 11, 2010
Waste not, want more
Figure 1 Finding enough room for a group photo is not that big of a deal at General MetalWorks, Mequon, Wis. Elimination of excess raw material inventory and racks of work-in-process hascleared plenty of floor space for such an event. Photos by Lila Aryan Photography.
Waste is not... Read more...
Article
February 9, 2010
Bright lights, big opportunity
Figure 1 Aluminum is used for the frame of Orion Energy Systems' lighting products because it conducts heat five times better than steel. Photos courtesy of Prima Finn-Power North America Inc. Orion Energy Systems is a company that doesn't take its business lightly. A Plymouth, Wis.,... Read more...
Article
December 4, 2009
Punching holes in aerospace manufacturing theories
Figure 1 A TRUMPF TruMatic 3000 punch-laser combination, like this one, is helping Unison Industries accomplish fabricating tasks, such as quickly making holes 0.125-in. thick in INCONEL, which wouldn't have been possible with the company's other tools. Tin banging is not a term commonly... Read more...
Article
November 3, 2009
One safeguard (not) for all
Figure 1 Any press brake safety evaluation should consider factors such as the application, part geometry, tooling, and brake type. Press brakes are one of the most versatile machine tools on the fabrication floor. Shops continually add new tools, from specialized die sets, hemming... Read more...
Article
September 1, 2009
Unique brake setup streamlines thick plate bending
Figure 1 Thick, high-tensile-strength plate is bent with a specialized tool. The material is bent to no more than a 176-degree inside angle for each bend. The CNC press brake at Peterson Pacific Corp. would make people with bending know-how stop in their tracks. In the brake sits a... Read more...
Article
August 26, 2008
Ultrafabrication, ultraexpansion
Figure 1 Ultra employs more than 200 welders, all trained for heavy-plate fabrication. That sums up Ultra Machine & Fabrication, a small company just three years ago. Today it employs more than 375, and over the past 24 months, managers sank some serious money into capital equipment: two... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2008
Specials simplify the complex, speed productivity
Figure 1 A job at O'Neal Steel called for a gooseneck 24 in. tall, 11 in. thick, which mated with a 5-in. V die with 1-in. chromed rounds on each side. Joe Sowder knows how to think big. The regional tooling specialist with O'Neal Steel worked with one of the company's longtime clients... Read more...
Article
February 7, 2006
Simplicity 'n' press brakes
Low-volume products, such as this zero-turn-radius lawn tractor with a 21- or 23-HP engine, kept Simplicity Manufacturing's laser cell busy, but also created a bottleneck at the company's old press brake. For almost 70 years, Simplicity Manufacturing Inc. has worked to live up to its... Read more...
Article
November 8, 2005
Say ye shibboleth!
"Say ye shibbo leth !"...
"Do you not hear me, traveler? ... Say ye shibbo leth ."
A look of surprise and terror crept over the traveler's face as the third syllable finished crossing his lips. A salty, warm liquid began bubbling up in the back of his throat—a sticky, thick, and crimson... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2005
Up Around the Bend
Jim Yantzer's forte is press brakes. He's been bending metal in Seattle since the 1960s, when he worked for Boeing Company. There he first learned the ins and outs of metals, from titanium and magnesium to aluminum and steel. In 1972 he was hired as a production lead at Seattle-based Red... Read more...
Article
February 8, 2005
Safety faux pas
Figure 1
No Triggering Device Protection
In the more than 25 years that I've been in the precision sheet metal trade, I have seen many examples of safety faux pas. Most were mistakes and oversights committed because of inattentiveness, lack of training, and... Read more...
Article
June 8, 2004
Pumping up productivity on older press brakes
Tall gooseneck punches can bend deep parts and parts with complicated bend sequences. In recent years faster, more efficient cutting and blanking methods have emerged. However, these cutting efficiencies and corresponding increases in productivity have not always been met with similar... Read more...
Article
May 4, 2004
Air forming and V-die selection
Air forming, bottom bending, and coining are metal forming methods. Air forming, the most common, is a three-point operation. The actual inside radius produced is based on a percentage of the V-die width, regardless of the sharp–radius relationship.
Selecting the correct die width can be... Read more...
Article
March 25, 2004
Maximizing your ironworker's potential
It is unsafe to punch a hole smaller in diameter than the material thickness, because the punch can break and harm the operator. Most ironworkers have many things in common. You can punch, shear, notch, bend, and even use an ironworker as a press, yet each ironworker may have a... Read more...
Article
March 25, 2004
Building the perfect tool cabinet
Figure 1
Deciding What Works Best
All too often tooling is thrown on a shelf, pallet, or table – one tool piled on top of another ( Figure 1 ). Operators dig through the pile, looking for a specific tool and damaging other tools in the process.
Depending on... Read more...
Article
November 20, 2003
Improving bending operations
The company works with materials from 3 to 25 millimeters and produces parts that range from pallet size to 15,000-pound weldments measuring 8 by 12 by 3 feet. Part runs are low to moderate, from five to 500 pieces. The company classifies its parts as moderately complex with tight... Read more...
Article
September 10, 2003
John Henry's last challenge or a Rube Goldberg device?
Both original equipment and after market manufacturers have made available machines with world class crowning and yaw compensation, and the newest controllers are inspired. But, how much is too much and how much is not enough? Are you buying a machine that would be appropriate... Read more...
Article
March 27, 2003
Gauging difficult parts at the press brake
Even with the advancements in computer design systems, parts layout still can still be a very difficult process, particularly when ease of forming is a major concern. But when is ease of forming not an issue at some time in almost every shop?
The Question
Figure 1... Read more...
Article
December 12, 2002
But we have always done it this way
Some of the following story may seem somewhat strange for an article about precision sheet metal and press brake operation, but my hope is that by reading this article, you will find that history can shed some light into a few of the darker corners of press brake and press brake department... Read more...
Article
August 29, 2002
Using proper press brake setup procedures
The most expensive part of any press brake operation is setup. During setup no parts are being made, and the longer setup takes, the longer the list of costs becomes. The efficiency and the profitability of a press brake are measured by the number of completed and correct parts you can produce... Read more...
Article
May 30, 2002
Bumping up large-radius bends
Figure 1
It often is impractical to buy or build a custom tool just for large-radius bends. Perhaps it is a one-of-a-kind part, or the radius that needs to be produced is too large to be done practically in a single punch and die set.
While rolling the bend in a... Read more...
Article
September 17, 2001
Fighting springback in profound radius bends
Figure 1:
With a profound-radius bend, springback increases dramatically.
Under normal press brake bending conditions, an inside bend radius that falls between 63 percent of the material thickness and 10 times the material thickness is defined as a radius... Read more...
Article
July 26, 2001
Bend deduction charts
In reviewing a couple dozen bend deduction charts from a variety of sources, I couldn't find any that agreed with another, with the exception of a single number here and there. For the most part, they varied widely. Figure 1 shows data from five of those charts selected at random.... Read more...
Article
February 15, 2001
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