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Old 01-19-2021, 03:44 PM
berntd berntd is offline
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Default Bending brake not bending crisp edges - why?

Hello
I have a 4ft bending brake (a pan brake) that I use to bend panels for my restoration projects. i tis identical to the one pictured but I have mine on a stand.

It is essentially a chinese machine that I purchased some years ago.

It has never really produced sharp crisp bends. they always appear a lot rounder that I need.

I have the clamping blade edge set to about 1 metal thickness behind the bending line.

What can I do to fix that?

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Last edited by galooph; 01-20-2021 at 03:43 AM.
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Old 01-19-2021, 04:48 PM
Gareth Davies Gareth Davies is offline
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If you’ve got the blade set back, is the folding arm set level with the lower clamping surface or is that set down one thickness as well? I always have the blade level with the front of the lower surface and gap the folding arm. What material and what thickness are you struggling with? Are the blades sharp cornered or have they got a radius on? They might just need skimming to get those crisp folds. Another thing to check is how much clamping force you’re using. Lots of potential reasons why it’s not performing as you’d want it to.
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Old 01-19-2021, 05:31 PM
berntd berntd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gareth Davies View Post
If you’ve got the blade set back, is the folding arm set level with the lower clamping surface or is that set down one thickness as well? I always have the blade level with the front of the lower surface and gap the folding arm. What material and what thickness are you struggling with? Are the blades sharp cornered or have they got a radius on? They might just need skimming to get those crisp folds. Another thing to check is how much clamping force you’re using. Lots of potential reasons why it’s not performing as you’d want it to.
Thanks. I don't use it very often but every time I do, I get annoyed that I have to hammer the edge tighter.

I bend 18gauge (1.15mm) cold rolled steel mostly. sometimes the odd 16 Gauge (1.6mm). Often short pieces up to 10" (250mm) long

The bending surface (movable arm) is level with the clamp surface/bed.

I usually have a scrap piece of same gauge on the right side on the clamp when I bend short pieces on the left.

I will have to check on your other suggestions.

Regards
Bernt
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Old 01-20-2021, 03:48 AM
skintkarter skintkarter is offline
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Bernt, sorry mate, it's the machine - you would be lucky to do 4' of 22 gauge with it (0.80 mm). A decent machine for up to 16 gauge steel probably weighs 6-800kgs. Your machine will be flexing everywhere unfortunately. Raffle it off and buy a decent second hand machine. Machinery house do have some decent 4' gear, but their Kleene type folders are $4k+. A wise old bugger years ago said to me that you buy a lathe by the tonne - same goes for sheetmetal gear unfortunately. If you try folding lighter gauges they will no doubt be crisp. You could try setting the top back to 2x or 3x material thickness, but I'm not sure it's going to help on over 20g.
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Old 01-20-2021, 05:09 AM
Jaroslav Jaroslav is offline
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Bernt. Take a photo of the detail of the bending edge.
This machine should bend 1.5mm sheet metal. Of course he needs to adjust.
Yes, the cast iron professional machine is not in dispute about that.
I had some bad home-made machines in my shop that we bought for consideration when someone bought a machine from us. After our modifications, some other customers still use them today. That's enough for what they do and for the little money. No stress.
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Old 01-20-2021, 10:59 AM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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Adjust your upper beam forward so there’s room for only 1 metal thickness between the beam edge and the bend line (the split between the lower beam & the front apron). Remove the bumper bar from the front apron. Try bending a sheet. If it bend tight at the ends and soft in the middle your brake is springing and can’t handle the gauge you are attempting. Just looking at the height of your upper and lower beams I’d say your brake is very light and rated only for very light gauges. ~ John Buchtenkirch
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Old 01-20-2021, 11:32 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Hi Bernt,
I had a brake just like this one you show, for several years.
It was ideal for making crisp bends on 1mm 3003 aluminum, with the grain and across the grain.


For the 1.3 and 1.5mm it was crisp, going with the grain, when the aluminum was soft.
I would lay out the panels for the best bends, grain-wise.
Then I sold that brake and bought a heavy one for doing 2mm, any direction, any metal.
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Old 01-21-2021, 09:18 AM
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I once bought an Enco box and pan brake, it had the same problem. I don't know about yours but on mine either the finger dies were made wrong or the basic frame of the machine was made wrong. It didn't matter how close you set the apron to the die fingers, you still got a horrible bend. After a small bit of investigation, I found that the slot the fingers slipped into was way too big, allowing the fingers to raise while bending.

The fix was irritating but simple, make a bunch of shims to tuck under the back of the dies to stop the movement. I could have corrected the problem by either making a new frame or making all new dies,... my answer was to just sell the machine and allow someone else to deal with it.
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Old 01-21-2021, 03:59 PM
Jaroslav Jaroslav is offline
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I have a password: "never give up"
I had a problem with the bead roller. I haven't understood why they make it that way yet. The original machine is unusable. The machine is perfect after my repair. I wanted to drop him to scrap. A little headache, a little work and the result I am surprised.

You must to find out the cause and figure out the construction. They only produce, but they don't know why and what it could be used for. So we don't have to wonder that the bending machine doesn't bend. So he bends, but do you want something exactly? You don't have unnecessary expectations - it's cheap - finish it yourself. We will not deal with the operation of the machine. The whole world is buying it and no one has complained yet ...... The philosophy is probably like that. Nobody wants to admit defeat. Everyone who bought the scrap spent a lot of time repairing the structure so that the machine worked. Anyone who does not count on it in advance is unpleasantly surprised after unpacking and feels that he can produce nothing. He looks at his hands and failed products, sends photos to friends, holds his head. And depression is coming .....

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=19291
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Old 01-22-2021, 02:08 AM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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I’m not going to say you can’t make improvements to machinery (I do it all the time) but with hand brakes heavier is very likely better. Look at the ratio of the height compared to the width of the upper beam on my Chicago and Whitney brakes. I paid $1650 for my used Whitney brake 30 years ago and it’s worth $3000 plus today so what did it really cost me to make $$$ with it thru the years . ~ John Buchtenkirch
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