Oct. 13, 2021
The press head of the bending machine drops, the metal is bent and the cycle repeats. To the uninitiated, it looks very simple. But it's not that simple. Some leaders often hold this perception error. Their perceptions and the resulting lack of support usually profit directly from the project.
Operating a bending machine is not for everyone. Insufficient knowledge about metal forming leads to many harmful practices when operators try to use the knowledge passed on by the tribe to correct problems on the shop floor. Just one serious mistake can lead to failure. It is therefore essential that you are fully conversant with metal forming processes, bending techniques and the nuances of forming on a bending machine. CNC tool manufacturer XQL invites you to read on.
The choice of the right bending tool is always a problem. The technician selects the punch and the tool according to the material thickness, the bending radius and the forming method. The punch angle must be equal to or less than the tooling angle. The combination of tool angles should help you compensate for springback, which is the tendency of the material to relax a degree or two as it is released from the applied pressure to produce the bend. The die opening must be sized to fit the required internal bending radius.
Bending a sheet metal will elongate the workpiece at the point of bending. During bending, the outer surface of the bend is subjected to expansion or tensile stresses, while the inner surface is subjected to compressive stresses. The boundary between expansion and compression is a theoretical area that does not change physically during the forming process. This neutral axis is unaffected by tensile or compressive forces and therefore has no expansion or compression.
We use the k-factor to calculate the position of the neutral axis.
To determine the minimum flange value, you need to consider the radius of the top two edges of the mould. When the flange is short and close to the mould radius, the part can slide enough to make the flange thin or snap directly into the mould space. Calculating the minimum flange before the part reaches the floor will save a lot of time, aggravation and scrap parts.
Forming tonnage is another issue that operators and part designers alike need to be aware of. They need to learn how to read and apply them, and make sure to adjust the values for the various metals. If you ignore this step, you could damage the part, the punch, the die, the bending machine or all of the above. You could also put your operators in danger.
These are just a few of the many considerations involved in producing parts on a bending machine. You can see that bending is not as simple as it may seem at first glance.
In fact, bending metal on a bending machine has proven to be one of the most challenging operations in a sheet metal shop. It takes a great deal of knowledge, experience and planning to put them all together. As a specialist manufacturer of bending and cutting machines, XQL has many years of experience and welcomes your enquiry or call +86 757 2361 9000 for a quotation.
