Prior to making a purchasing decision for a hydraulic press brake, one is going to need to research a number of factors to make sure that they select a machine with the proper capacities and characteristics. One will need to detail the materials that one expects to bend, perform a review of tooling and back gauge requirements for the machine, and investigate maintenance requirements for the piece of equipment under consideration.
Evaluation of materials to be bent in the pressbrake
One of the major concerns that one must address to be able to "right-size" a hydraulic press brake before they purchase will be the types and length of the materials to be bent in the pressbrake. Since the change from mechanical presses in the 70's to the high speed hydraulic brake presses available today, the same evolution has occurred in the materials that are used for the bending process today as well. Since the amount of power that the hydraulic press break must deliver to overcome the yield point of the material will vary depending on the type of material and the material condition (tensile and yield strengths), one really needs to determine their worst case scenario.
When one considers the tonnage that will be required for the pressbrake, it is best to think "longest and strongest." The longest bend that one needs to make is one major consideration that will determine the overall size of the pressbrake. The maximum force required to make a bend is the other. One should be careful as the maximum force may not be needed on the longest bend if the material has a low yield point as compared to a shorter bend on a higher yield point material. You are going to want to know the amount of force necessary to perform the most severe bend with the highest tonnage required.
Tooling and back gauges supplied with the brakepress
A careful evaluation of the features of the machine from a standpoint of setting the machine up for production should be reviewed. A key component of a brakepress is the back gauge use to position the materials prior to making the hit to bend the part. The ability to adjust this easily and accurately is important for it greatly impacts the quality of the finish product. One must focus on the fact that they make money while the hydraulic press brake is bending parts, not when it is being setup, so being able to quickly change the machine over serves to support the old adage of "time is money." This principle applies to the ease in which one can change over the bend tooling as well.
Tooling-up the pressbrake for production is also going to be a serious concern. One should evaluate the different hydraulic press brake tools that they will need to accomplish the various bends necessary to produce their finished parts, and by making the successive hits necessary to form the metal into the correct shapes. One will want to be sure that the machine manufacturer has provided for the fast change-over of the tooling and properly powered the machine for the different tools that will be needed.
Fast and straightforward machine maintenance is a key concern
Machine reliability is one other key factor to consider. A super fast machine that is constantly going "down" due to component failure or for complex service requirements to keep the pressbrake in sound running order may not be such a good deal after all. If one remembers just one simple thing and that is that a machine that is down for repair makes no bends, and bends equal money, then this simple formula will have you thinking machine reliability.
Even the most reliable machines suffer some form of downtime due to isolated part failure or simply the time it takes to perform predictive maintenance. In these cases, you are going to want to make sure that service parts for your new machine are readily available from the machine supplier. One should do a complete review of potential service parts for cost and availability as part of their analysis before purchase.
Evaluation of materials to be bent in the pressbrake
One of the major concerns that one must address to be able to "right-size" a hydraulic press brake before they purchase will be the types and length of the materials to be bent in the pressbrake. Since the change from mechanical presses in the 70's to the high speed hydraulic brake presses available today, the same evolution has occurred in the materials that are used for the bending process today as well. Since the amount of power that the hydraulic press break must deliver to overcome the yield point of the material will vary depending on the type of material and the material condition (tensile and yield strengths), one really needs to determine their worst case scenario.
When one considers the tonnage that will be required for the pressbrake, it is best to think "longest and strongest." The longest bend that one needs to make is one major consideration that will determine the overall size of the pressbrake. The maximum force required to make a bend is the other. One should be careful as the maximum force may not be needed on the longest bend if the material has a low yield point as compared to a shorter bend on a higher yield point material. You are going to want to know the amount of force necessary to perform the most severe bend with the highest tonnage required.
Tooling and back gauges supplied with the brakepress
A careful evaluation of the features of the machine from a standpoint of setting the machine up for production should be reviewed. A key component of a brakepress is the back gauge use to position the materials prior to making the hit to bend the part. The ability to adjust this easily and accurately is important for it greatly impacts the quality of the finish product. One must focus on the fact that they make money while the hydraulic press brake is bending parts, not when it is being setup, so being able to quickly change the machine over serves to support the old adage of "time is money." This principle applies to the ease in which one can change over the bend tooling as well.
Tooling-up the pressbrake for production is also going to be a serious concern. One should evaluate the different hydraulic press brake tools that they will need to accomplish the various bends necessary to produce their finished parts, and by making the successive hits necessary to form the metal into the correct shapes. One will want to be sure that the machine manufacturer has provided for the fast change-over of the tooling and properly powered the machine for the different tools that will be needed.
Fast and straightforward machine maintenance is a key concern
Machine reliability is one other key factor to consider. A super fast machine that is constantly going "down" due to component failure or for complex service requirements to keep the pressbrake in sound running order may not be such a good deal after all. If one remembers just one simple thing and that is that a machine that is down for repair makes no bends, and bends equal money, then this simple formula will have you thinking machine reliability.
Even the most reliable machines suffer some form of downtime due to isolated part failure or simply the time it takes to perform predictive maintenance. In these cases, you are going to want to make sure that service parts for your new machine are readily available from the machine supplier. One should do a complete review of potential service parts for cost and availability as part of their analysis before purchase.
About the Author:
Roberto Leoni is the owner of Heli Engineering, a Press Brake Manufacturing company based in Boksburg, South Africa. For further information on Bending Machinery please visit our website.
No comments:
Post a Comment