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Important Factors of Consideration for Buying Press Brakes

Press brake is an important type of machine pressing tool that is used for bending sheet metal. This tool is mainly used in automotive and industrial workshops along with traditional or CNC equipment for creating precise bends out of metal sheets.

Owing to their increasing use in various industries today, it is easy to find these tools in a variety of specifications. Selection of the wrong tool will not only escalate the costs of manufacturing but also bring huge losses in the form of material rejections and the loss of credibility for your business.

How to ensure the right selection of a press brake for your facility? This post discusses a few factors that should be for selecting a new press brake. Also, it highlights the different types of press brakes available for consideration.

Understanding the Different Types of Press Brakes Used

Owing to increasing demand for various technologies, today, it is common to find press brakes that are mechanical, hydraulic, or electric. The following are important types of press brakes used in metalworking industries.

Electric Press Brakes: These machines are easy to maintain, and assure precision. Nowadays, it is easy to find them in various configurations. Most times, the electronic press brakes are preferred for bending small parts.

Hydraulic Press Brakes: These machines are designed for heavy workloads, and are quite easy to operate. The hydraulic press brakes are suited for bending thick metal sheets.

The choice between these two press brakes will depend on your requirements. The next section discusses a few tips that will ease the selection process for you.

How to Select a New Press Brake?

Choosing the press brake involves planning and several considerations such as the ones mentioned below:

Tonnage: This is referred to as the bending capacity of a press brake. Hence, other considerations to be made while selecting the press brake for your facility could be type of material, thickness of material, length of the material, process employed, die opening.

If you are unable to calculate the tonnage of the machine then it is always better to approach the manufacturer whom you are considering. They will help you calculate the bending force of every task.

Length of the Material to be Processed: Next, consider the maximum length of the sheet metal to be processed. If you wish to bend the sheet metal by employing multiple stations on the press brake then you need to alter the length of each station. For maximum efficiency, you can select a press brake that allows you bending short and long sides effectively through two stations. This will reduce your processing time.

Daylight or Open Height: The choice of open height will depend on several factors such as the type of metal bending to be performed, the sheet metal bending tools used, and the stroke needed for the activity. For instance, if a customer is using a press brake with standard daylight, he may find difficulties to move the finished part while bending flanges that are large in size.

Deflection: You must consider the deflection that a machine may undergo. For instance, a 5-foot machine will endure four times less deflection in the ram and bed than a 10-foot machine when subjected to the same load.

IMA information

In addition to the above-mentioned factors, it is important to check on other factors such as the desired angular accuracy, type of tooling used, flange width, and the workpiece used.

By now you might have understood how a press brake can be an asset to your facility. Hence, it is important that you source it from a reliable manufacturer or supplier. Italian Machinery Association offers Italian press brakes from Euromac and Vimercati press brakes. These are both hydraulic and electric kinds, as well as universal combined equipment with different tonnages.

Our catalog’s range of press brakes from our members can satisfy needs of any manufacturing, from a small job shop to an automated multi-tasking plant.

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