With a sheet bending machine you can bend a sheet of metal. The whole sheet can be placed on the surface and bent according to your requirement to make metal structures. Pressure is applied to the metal sheet in order to bend it. Metal can be bent and converted into a new shape.
These are extensively used in many industries such as automobiles and manufacturing industry. Different types of sheet bending tools with diverse features are available.
Features of a sheet bending machine:
Also known as a brake, a sheet bending machine is used to make big right angles as well as curved folds. It is also used to shape metals in the required shape and size. High pressure exerted on the metal part causes it to deform and take the desired shape or the bend. Press brake is the basic form of this.
It has a flat surface on which the sheet to be bent is placed. The clamping bar holds the material firmly while it is being bent. The clamping of the sheet can be done manually, automatically or by using a foot pedal.
The metal to be shaped is placed between ‘punch and dies’ tools. The punch or the upper tool exerts pressure on the metal sheet and the die the base tool is formed into the shape which the metal will take when the force will be exerted.
The front plate of the device, is hinged and can be lifted like a gate. It forces the sheet to follow the plate in order to bend. The bends can be made up to 120°.
The clamping bar in a cornice brake is one solid piece, which is the size of the full length of the unit and it can make only straight bends. The complete width of the sheet can be bent.
A box and pan brake has a clamping bar with many blocks that can be removed. These blocks can be removed and arranged again to bend a particular area of the sheet.
These are available in different sizes depending upon you requirement. There are small devices for molding light metals like aluminum and brass which are operated by hand. For large sheets of steel there are industrial size machines which are hand operated or hydraulic.
It is hand operated have body made of cast iron. These have a handle, a bending bar and a bending blade to make folds on the metal sheets. Different dies are used to create different bends like rotary bending dies, V dies, radius dies, acute angle dies etc.
In a mechanical sheet moulding, an electric motor supplies energy to the flywheel which in turn powers the crank to move the ram vertically. This is accurate and fast to work.
Hydraulic sheet bending use two hydraulic cylinders to move the upper beam. These are fast and efficient tools.
Conclusion
As technology advances, the tools also advance in design and use. We have to select machines according to our requirement. A wide range of sheet bending equipments is available in the market. As a consumer we have to make our choice wisely.
