Gauging can make or break a bending operation, especially when working with tight-tolerance or unusually shaped workpieces. Sometimes a part is simply impossible to gauge, even with a 5- or 6-axis backgauge system. If you’re an experienced operator, you could gauge the part properly using a few gauging tricks, like laser stitching or pin gauging,…
Question: I read your column every chance I get, but sadly I do not get to read enough of them. Management generally keeps them in the front office, but now and then one escapes to the shop floor. I have a question about side gauging for bends that are not perpendicular to the part edge. I set…
In any given month, I receive quite a few emails and letters from readers throughout the world. While I respond to some, I receive far too many to respond to all of them promptly. For those who have been waiting, I apologize for the delay, and I hope that my tardy answers are still of some value…
Fabricated parts made from sheet metal range from the simple to the very complex. Most part designs are relatively simple, which allows them to be produced with straightforward bend sequences and commonly available tooling. Still, while CAD can capture a seemingly limitless number of creative ideas, not all can be translated into formed sheet metal….
Questions: Thanks so much for your helpful articles. I have four questions. First, bend charts list a minimum flange length, but is there a formula that can be used for a minimum dimension as it relates to the overall feature length to prevent distortion in holes, for example? I have been using the minimum flange length…
Question: Machine vendors often tout the importance of buying precision-ground tooling instead of planer tooling for machines that boast high levels of accuracy. Beyond the accuracy argument, though, are there implications regarding setup time, especially when it comes to staging multiple toolsets in a single setup? Answer: As an instructor, I can’t count the number of times…
HARSLE industrial-grade hydraulic presses are suitable for fabrication, bending and forming, straightening, assembly, maintenance operations, testing, and quality control. The open-side frame design allows for material to pass through and accommodates long workpieces. The adjustable H-frame bed height handles big and small jobs. Features include an all-steel frame, industrial-grade hydraulic system, pressure regulator, three ram…
Walk into most commercial or precision sheet metal operations with CNC metal folders on the floor and you’ll probably find a collection of CNC press brakes too. Sure, press brakes have a long history in U.S. metal fabrication than folders do, but that’s often not why fabricators keep both types of forming machines on the…
A decade ago most spending in precision metal fabrication—outside welding and consumables—occurred in the cutting department as the industry transitioned from low-powered CO2 lasers to high-powered CO2 and, finally, to solid-state technology. For the right application, a fiber laser today can run circles around a high-powered CO2 laser purchased a decade ago. Each November at the FABTECH® tradeshow, the…
Walk on the shop floor and you can spot a master press brake technician at work. He’s in the zone, his gaze focused on the tooling set up in front of him. He can visualize just how a flat part folds up, or if he has an advanced machine, he refers to a 3-D simulation…