Computer numerical control (CNC) bending and panel bending help fabricate a variety of metal components. When determining whether this fabrication method is ideal for a particular product, it's important to understand what panel bending is and how it works. At Metal Works of High Point, we offer a range of CNC metal forming services for our clients' unique specifications. Learn more about CNC panel bending here.
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What Is Panel Bending?
Panel bending is one of many methods used for sheet metal fabrication. Automated and semi-automated processes such as CNC panel bending, which use CAD and CAM drawings, produce metal pieces with tight tolerances. Panel bending systems rely on specially designed panel bender machines. The process differs from regular bending, which usually takes place on press brakes or progressive dies.
Depending on the application's specific needs, the CNC bending process may involve different types of panel bends, including:
In sharp bends, the radius is smaller than the minimum bend radius, while the center of the radius is creased to produce a sharp bend.
A custom bend radius depends on the customer's unique specifications.
A step bend comprises a large bend radius divided into several smaller bends, which form a slightly larger radius.
These bends consist of sheet metal edges bent to 180°, creating a hem at the edge.
Advantages of Panel Bending
Panel bending offers numerous benefits that make it a suitable fabrication method for many applications. The process works particularly well for larger components, as it's generally more economical and can meet tighter tolerances than other methods. Additionally, panel bending processes only require a single operator. The alternative would be a two-person press brake operation that's more expensive, increases the likelihood of errors, and doesn't allow for tight tolerances.
Press Brakes vs. Panel Benders
Press brakes and panel benders have some key differences to keep in mind. While press brakes use a punch and die set to shape materials, CNC panel benders use part manipulators along with bladed bending units. Understanding the differences between press brakes and panel benders can help you determine which to use for a given application.
The panel bending process involves the following steps:
The manipulator fixes the workpiece in place in front of the panel bender.
The panel bender's blades bend the workpiece by applying force either upward or downward.
The operator turns the workpiece as needed to bend different sides.
Once bending is complete, the operator removes the finished material from the panel bender.
Dimensions and Design Considerations for Panel Bending
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With each panel bending project, there are certain design considerations and dimensions that influence the workpiece's outcome.
Bend Line
The bend line is a straight line on either side of a panel bend that shows the start and end of a bend.
Bend Radius
The bend radius is the distance between the axis of the bend and the bend's interior surface. The most frequently used radius is a 90° angle. To save time and money, Metal Works can bend up or down on the same plane for more efficient production.
Parts often need to be overbent to achieve the ideal radius and bend angle due to residual stress in the material following bending, which is known as springback. The minimum bend value depends on the specific material and application, but the bend radius in most applications should be at least equal to the material thickness, which helps prevent fracturing.
Bend Angle
The bend angle, or inside bend radius, is the angle from the bent flange to its starting position before bending. The inside bend radius plus the sheet thickness will give you the outside bend radius.
Neutral Axis
The neutral axis is the part of the metal sheet that remains uncompressed and unstretched. It stays at a constant length.
K-factor
This defines where the neutral axis is within the bending material. The formula for calculating the K-factor involves dividing the neutral axis (T) by the sheet thickness (t). The value of the K-factor tends to be higher than 0.25 but below 0.5.
Bend Allowance
The bend allowance is the bend's arc length or the neutral axis length between the bend lines. You can use bend allowance to calculate the total flat length, specifically by adding the bend allowance to the flange lengths.
Bend Relief
Applications use bend reliefs if a bend extends on an edge. The bend relief must not be deeper than the combination of the bend radius and material thickness. To prevent tearing, the bending process requires a relief notch.
Bend Height
The bend height (H) needs to be a minimum of four times the thickness (t) of the sheet added to the bend radius (r). Otherwise, a bend height that's too small will lead to part deformation. The formula for calculating bend height is as follows: H = 4t + r.
Bending Near Holes
Panel bending near holes on a workpiece can result in hole deformation.
CNC Panel Bending From Metal Works
The experts at Metal Works of High Point offer CNC metal forming and bending services tailored to the needs of your application. We use press brakes and panel benders to achieve the best possible results with each project.
The company is the world’s best metal furniture panel bender supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
We have experience with a wide range of industries, including material handling, appliances, telecommunications, transportation, contract furniture, construction and aerial lifts, and power generation. You can learn more about our past work through our case studies.
Since our establishment in , Metal Works of High Point has developed into a leading provider of turnkey contract metal fabrication solutions for a diverse portfolio of clients. We work to give our clients high-quality custom components with an emphasis on top-tier customer service, respect, and honesty behind each project. Whenever our clients work with us, they benefit from personalized and consistently responsive service, along with state-of-the-art technology and high skill levels.
In addition to CNC bending and metal forming, we offer a host of other solutions, including laser cutting, welding, and finishing. We adhere to our five core values of honesty and integrity, dependability, respect, innovation, and commitment to excellence. In giving our clients the best, we aim to improve delivery times and cut down on costs while maintaining the highest level of quality. To ensure this, we invest in the most advanced technology available and employee training.
Want to learn more about how our capabilities can serve your application? Contact us today. If you're in need of custom metal fabrication services and want to get started with us, you can request a quote.
The panel bender is a machine with functions similar to the press brake but is more automatic and has more features. In the past, manual bending machines were used for metal bending. With the continuous progress of technology, sheet metal forming has entered the era of automation.
Sheet metal bending can be divided into manual, semi-automatic, and full-automatic bending centres. Automatic tool changing systems, measuring systems, etc., improve metal bending efficiency. Then came the panel bender, which has functions similar to those of the traditional press brake.
Manual panel benders offer simplicity and affordability. However, they do require skilled operators and are not as efficient for large-scale production. Semi-automatic panel benders offer a blend of manual and automated features, which can reduce the need for constant manual intervention.
The blade of the panel bender can form a flange in the horizontal direction, and the blank holder in the other direction can keep the material stable. Standard bending blades can produce many types of radii. The bending of the panel bender will not leave marks.
Compared with the bending workpiece of the press brake, it will be more aesthetic and clean. Compared with the previous press brake, the panel bender has the advantages of being labor-saving and high-speed.
The panel bender is a highly versatile tool that can perform fully automatic bending processes, including automatic loading and unloading of tools, feeding, measuring, bending, and outputting. It has a short bending stroke and fast feeding speed and produces highly accurate workpieces.
Special tools can be used for complex bendings, such as crimping and offset bending. However, not all workpieces are suitable for the panel bender. Generally, it is better for producing box-type workpieces as it can bend the side of the whole box at once.
Nowadays, a press brake and a panel bender connected to a robot can achieve full automation, but their functions are not as complete as those of a robot bending centre. Understanding the difference between a press brake and a sheet metal panel bender can help you choose the right machine.
The working principle of the panel bender is different from that of the press brake. When operating the universal bending tool, the operator only needs to load the sheet metal. The workpiece positioning, bending, and reversing are controlled by the machine and software.
The panel bender does not press the metal plate into the lower die through punches. The panel bender is to fix the plate through a pair of blades and bend it up and down to form the final profile. When bending a complex angle, the blade oscillates around a single bending point until the desired angle is reached.
It does not move up and down along a straight line, which is different from the press brake. After positioning the plate, the panel bender can quickly adjust to the correct tool length. When bending, after the workpiece is positioned, the clamping beam tool clamps the workpiece in place. The lower tool moves upward to bend in a positive direction; The top tool moves down to bend in the negative direction.
The upper pressing tool and the bottom pressing tool clamp the sheet metal in place. But they will be not directly used to bend the metal, but the upper and lower blades apply pressure to form it. The metal plate of the panel bender is placed under the clamping claw, and then the clamping claw descends and clamps the workpiece.
The longer the plate protrudes from the other side, the higher the flange produced by the throat of the machine. The panel bender is very fast and accurate. After the workpiece is positioned, the bending tools move up and down to form a flange.
In the process of side bending, the clamping claw rotates the workpiece, and the tools move up and down to bend the plate. The movement of the tools determines the bending angle and radius of the workpiece, so even curling can be formed.
The bending blade forms more than 90 degrees of material, and the tool drops to form the final curling. Box type, flat workpieces, and large workpieces are also suitable for panel benders.
The panel bender is a specialized machine used for bending sheet metal. It has an automatic tool changer, which reduces the installation time. A complete set of tools can complete the complex bending of all workpieces. The interactive area of the panel bender's tools on the surface of the metal plate is very small.
There are few scratches on the surface of the workpiece produced in this way. The tool wear of the panel bender is also very small because the friction between the tool and the metal surface is small. The whole process of the panel bender can be carried out automatically, which saves human resources.
The panel bender's bending angle change is formed by the movement of the upper and lower blades, so its tools are not as complicated as those of press brakes. The fully automatic panel benders have an automatic tool changer, which can quickly change tools to adjust the various angle bending operations in various bending tasks.
Some large workpieces with positive and negative flanges are suitable for manufacturing with panel benders. If the panel bender can automatically set the blank holder, only one operator can handle it. The panel bender only applies pressure to the metal plate through the upper and lower blades.
This bending method makes the change and spring back of the metal plate less obvious so that it can bend the whole box side at once. The panel bender's bending method is very suitable for the production of boxes, covers, and similar items.
There are some safety problems when using a modern press brake to make small parts. While the panel bender can produce smaller profiles by clamping claws or manually manipulating them.
(1) Size and Material Limitations
Size Limitation: Panel benders are typically suitable for processing small to medium-sized metal sheets, but have limited capabilities for processing extra-large or extra-thick sheets. Bending of extra-large/extra-thick sheets requires the use of larger hydraulic bending machines or other specialized equipment.
Material Limitation: Panel benders are primarily suitable for processing relatively soft metals such as aluminium and stainless steel. However, their performance may not be ideal for processing harder metal materials like steel plates, leading to potential mold wear or reduced bending precision and accuracy.
(2) Shape and Batch Limitations
Shape Limitation: Panel benders excel at bending flat sheet materials but have limited capabilities for processing complex three-dimensional curved structures, which may require combining with other manufacturing processes such as welding.
Batch Limitation: Although panel benders offer automation advantages, their advantages may not be as significant for small-batch, multi-variety processing orders, and may even increase the time and cost associated with process adjustments and mold changes.
(3) Other Limitations
Structural Limitation: Due to the limited throat depth and opening height of panel benders, they are more suitable for producing smaller flanges. The positioning of the clamping tools and bending blades on panel benders makes it relatively difficult to perform internal bending on the machine.
Noise Issue: Panel benders can generate significant noise during high-speed operation, which may have an impact on the factory environment and operators, requiring measures such as sound insulation and noise reduction.
High Cost: Compared to conventional bending machines, panel benders are relatively expensive, making them less popular in some application scenarios.
What sets panel benders apart is their versatility. Panel bender is very suitable for producing square, large, and rectangular workpieces in bending and forming metal sheets. These workpieces have high requirements for appearance and shape. The surface of the workpiece made by the panel bender has few scratches.
Such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and other electrical appliances, as well as doors, elevators, metal furniture and so on. When selecting a panel bender, it is very important to know which workpieces its bending method is suitable for.
Not only have the panel bending machine taken on more work because of the automated nature of the bending, but the units have also helped out with more complicated work, such as hems. In addition, the panel bender can achieve unparalleled accuracy and repeatability numbers in sheet metal fabrication.
Compared with the press brake, the panel bender has more complete functions, higher automation and safer operation in the metal fabrication industry. The cost of the press brake is much less than that of the panel bender, but the operation of the panel machine is simple. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) panel benders represent the pinnacle of panel bending technology.
When choosing between the press brake and the panel bender, manufacturers should consider the specific needs of their production processes. Precision and efficiency are paramount in metal fabrication, and panel benders excel in delivering both. Using the panel bending machine can also reduce the cost of manpower and material resources through efficient batch production.
Our company, ADH Machine Tool, has been providing boosts for manufacturing press brakes, panel benders, shearing, and fiber laser cutting machines for over 40 years to meet different customers' production needs. Our product experts can provide you with suggestions to choose the most appropriate and cost-effective machine.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website commercial appliances panel bender.