4 Advice to Choose a aluminum sheet bending machine

29, Apr. 2024

 

Tips for Choosing the Right Metal Bending Machine - Mac-Tech

Picking the correct metal bending machine can streamline your operations and prevent unnecessary downtime. These tips for choosing the right metal bending machine will help you make a decision that can significantly enhance your production process.

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Consider the Type and Thickness of Metal You Typically Use

The type and thickness of metal you frequently use are significant factors that influence the kind of machine you should choose. Different machines can handle various types of metals and thicknesses. For instance, if your operations involve working with hard and thick metals like stainless steel, you need a machine with higher power and tonnage. Conversely, a machine with less power and tonnage is adequate for softer and thinner metal like aluminum.

Think About the Length of Workpieces

The length of the workpieces you typically handle is another critical factor to consider when choosing the right metal bending machine. If you work with long pieces of stainless steel, you’ll need a steel folding machine specifically made to handle long workpieces.

Conversely, if you work with shorter pieces, a machine with a shorter bed length will suffice. Therefore, understanding the size of your workpieces is critical to making the right choice.

Consider Bending Radius and Tonnage

When choosing a metal bending machine, consider the bending radius and tonnage. These factors play a crucial role in determining the quality of the bend. The bending radius refers to the inside curvature of the bend, while the tonnage is the amount of force the machine can apply to create the bend. Machines with high tonnage can handle larger bending radii and thicker materials.

Look for Deflection Compensation

Deflection happens when the ram or the bed of the bending machine bends due to the force applied to the workpiece. This can create inaccurate bends. Machines equipped with deflection compensation can adjust for this, ensuring accurate bends every time.

Get Computer Controls

Modern metal bending machines come with computer controls that provide higher precision and repeatability. They also offer programming capabilities, allowing you to save and recall specific bending programs. This feature can significantly increase productivity and reduce setup times.

Take the Type of Power Into Account

Metal fabrication machines are available in hydraulic, electric, and pneumatic power versions. While hydraulic machines offer more power, electric and pneumatic machines are quieter and more energy efficient.

Understanding your needs and the capabilities of different machines will guide you in choosing the right metal bending machine. When in doubt, consult the experts at Mac-Tech. We’ll be happy to help you determine the best types of machines for your shop.

6 Tips to Help You Buy the Most Suitable Bending Machine

If the majority of the workpiece is bent 1250 mm or shorter, then consider the number of bending machine tonnage is almost halved, which can greatly reduce the acquisition cost. Therefore, the length of the processed part product is quite important to determine the model specifications.

If the plate to be bent in production is mild steel, the thickest has 6 mm, the length of 2500 mm within the free bending, then you should consider buying a bending machine of 100 tons or more. If the bending needs to be corrected bending, then a larger tonnage of the bending machine.

Consider carefully the sheet metal and the maximum thickness and length of processing. If the main production product material is mild steel, its thickness is within 3 mm, the maximum length does not exceed 2500 mm, then the free bending force does not need to be greater than 80 tons. However, if there is a large amount of bottom bending in the operation, then perhaps you should consider purchasing a bending machine of about 150 tons.

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The first important thing to consider is the parts you want to produce, to fully estimate the standard size of the parts you want to produce goods, the shape of the structure, etc. to make a full accounting, the point is to buy a machine that can complete the processing task with the shortest table and the smallest tonnage, so as to achieve the purpose of practical and economical.

This means that shorter machines require less shim adjustment to produce quality parts, and less shim adjustment reduces lead time. However, most current CNC hydraulic bending machines have been designed for production with the addition of a hydraulic deflection compensation function, reducing the need for production operators to adjust the machine while improving bending accuracy and productivity. Hydraulic deflection compensation function is controlled by the CNC system, hydraulic oil through the magnetic service valve into the compensation cylinder, to carry out the table upward, while the deflection compensation force increases with the increase in bending force, thus playing a role in deflection compensation.

Bending machine in the bending process, especially when bending long size of the workpiece, deflection will occur. The longer the workpiece, the greater the deflection. Under the same load, the deflection of the table and slide of a 2500 mm model is four times greater than that of a 1250 mm model.

The material of the processing plate is also a key factor. Compared to mild steel, stainless steel typically requires about 50% more load, while most materials are about 50% less than soft aluminum. The relevant standard bending pressure parameters can be obtained from the bending machine manufacturer. The table shows the bending force required per 1000 mm length at different thicknesses and different plates.

Bending radius - tonnage specifications

The bending corner radius of the workpiece is also a factor to be considered during the bending of the product. When using free bending, the bending radius is 0.156 times the size of the V-groove opening.


In free bending, the V-groove opening should be 8 times the thickness of the sheet metal. For example, if a 12 mm V-groove opening is used to bend 1.5 mm mild steel, the bending radius of the part is approximately R = 1.9 mm. If the bending radius is close to or less than the thickness of the sheet, under molding must be performed. However, the pressure required for bottom bending is about four times greater than that for free bending. When free bending is performed, attention is paid to the gap between the upper and lower dies at the bottom of the stroke, and to the use of compensating springback to keep the sheet overbent at about 90°. Typically, the free bending die produces a rebound angle of ≤ 2° on a new bending machine and a bending radius equal to 0.156 times the opening of the lower die. Therefore the die angle for free up and down die bending process is generally 86 ~ 90°. At the bottom end of the stroke, there should be a gap between the upper and lower dies that is slightly larger than the thickness of the sheet.

The forming angle is improved because the larger tonnage of the bottom press bend (about 4 times that of the free press bend) reduces the stresses that normally cause springback within the bending radius. Impression bending is the same as bottom bending, except that the front end of the upper die is machined to the desired bend radius and the upper and lower die gap at the bottom of the stroke is less than the sheet thickness. Springback is largely avoided by applying sufficient pressure (about 10 times that of a free bend) to force the front end of the upper die to contact the sheet. In order to choose the lowest tonnage specification, it is best to plan for a bending radius greater than the plate thickness and to use free bending whenever possible. A larger bending radius often does not affect the quality of the finished part and its future use.

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