Bending machines are used for bending plastics and metals such as wires, rods, pipes, and metal sheets. They can create all sorts of angles and shapes and are used in a wide range of industrial settings, including automotive, construction, and fabrication industries. Their uses are infinite, but what else do you need to know about these hugely useful machines?
Types of bending machines
Companies such as Cotswold Machinery offer different kinds of bending machines. Some of the most common include roll benders, press brake machines, wire benders, and tube benders. Each kind has its disadvantages and advantages depending on what material is being used, its thickness, and how complex the required bend is.
Bending machines can also be fully automatic, semi-automatic, or manual. Manual machines need operators to adjust bending and the force by hand. Safety in the workplace is obviously a consideration here, with more information available on the Health and Safety Executive website.
Semi-automatic bending machines have some features that are automated, such as feeding or clamping, while fully automatic machines won’t require human intervention for the complete bending process.
Features and methods
Bending machines can offer a range of accessories and features, including guides, rollers, clamps, mandrels, dies, sensors, and CNC controllers. These features can be helpful to ensure high levels of safety, quality, speed, and accuracy.
These machines can use different methods to bend materials; for example, there are bending machines that use wipe bending, three-point bending, rotary draw bending, coining, bottoming, and air bending. Again, each method has plus and minus points and the right choice depends on the properties of the material being used, the springback effect, and the bend radius.
Capacities and limitations
Anyone who is considering investing in a bending machine should also consider the limitations and capacities of the equipment they are looking at. Aspects to think about include minimum flange length, minimum bend radius, maximum bending angle and length, and maximum bending force. The results achieved will depend on a range of factors, including material characteristics and the specifications of particular bending machines.