Press Brake Alignment

Sheet Metal Fabrication techniques, questions and help. "Tricks of the Trade"

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mcman56
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:30 pm
Location: Roseville, CA

Press Brake Alignment

Post by mcman56 »

I made a press brake and use in the basic Grizzly 30 ton shop press. See picks. Lately, while bending some 3/16" 5052, I noticed that it does not bend the metal evenly. The part coming down from the top will be off by several degrees and will sometime jam on the guide bars at the bottom. (There is not a huge amount of play)The plate was about 12" wide and I expected the bending resistance to keep it straight. So......
1. Am I expecting too much from a crude press brake
2. Would work on the press make it push down more evenly?
3. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Dan

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whateg0
Posts: 1114
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 3:54 pm
Location: Wichita, KS

Re: Press Brake Alignment

Post by whateg0 »

Could be that there is just enough play for it to bind. It has been my experience that the guides must be very close or very loose. I have also found that the taller the contact area on the guides, the better. It has less chance of wracking that way.

Dave
loughnut
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:45 pm

Re: Press Brake Alignment

Post by loughnut »

when i built mine i used no guides or springs. mine has large Coupling Nuts welded to each side with bolts that i can adjust up to the upper brace. this way i can level it for most bends and i can tweak it if i am bending a transition like a cone. i like not having the guides because i make some shorter dies with large and small radius's for bar stock that work well with the bottom die. i will take some pics and post them someday
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