Press Brake Tips
Simple tips to extend the life of your press brake and increase productivity.
#1. Clean Machines
It is so easy to prolong the life of your press brake and make set up faster and easier simply by keeping your pressbrake machine clean. Oil residue should be removed daily before setting up to prevent shop dust and dirt from adhering to the machine or entering the control panel which can scratch parts and cause electrical problems.
#2 Avoid Ram Upset
Ram upset occurs when a bend load is too concentrated and the bed and/or ram over-deflects, creating a permanent upset in the center of the machine. You will know this has happened when there is a larger angle in the center of a long part than at the ends and it can only be corrected only by costly remachining. Prevent ram upset by placing bending loads carefully and using only a sufficient amount of tonnage to make the part.
#3 Adequate Lubrication
Proper lubrication is another serious and frequent oversight. All moving parts should be lubricated according to the recommendations of the manufacturer.
Ram gibs are a critical area and should be kept lubricated, if required. Some machines have nonlubricated gibways, some have grease fittings, and some have manual or automatic oiling systems. If the gibs require lubrication, failing to do it may cause them to freeze and/or become so badly worn that costly replacement is necessary.
#4 Level Machines
To ensure the ram doesn't operate with a twisting level make sure that the Ram gibs are parallel and level. An out-of-level ram forms imperfect parts, and if the angle is bad enough, the gibs act as a brake, keeping the ram from returning to the top of stroke without increasing the return pressure.
#5 Correct Gib Clearance
Gibs require the clearance recommended by the manufacturer. With too little clearance, they hold the ram as a brake, and too much clearance allows floating during the bending process. Floating has an adverse effect on the flange width and the consistency of the bend.
#6 Worn Tooling
Inconsistent bends and crooked flanges usually are caused by worn tooling. Check your tooling tolerances at least once each week. Tooling can be remachined to new standards for less than the cost of new tooling.
#7 Aligned Tooling
Inorder to produce accurate parts it is critical that press brake punches and dies are properly aligned. The center of the punch and die should be in the same plane for the entire length of the machine.
The flange width of the part also is affected by misalignment. The backgauge is positioned from the center of the die, while the final flange width is determined by the center of the punch. The punch position is fixed (provided the gibs are tight), while the die position is adjustable to the centerline of the punch. Misalignment can occur when the die or the die rail moves on the bed.