Press Brake Metal Bending Crash Course

This video explains a few basic factors for air bending with a press break.

[@gilateen]

I operated the shear for 9 years. Just Started on a 150 ton press brake four days ago. Not hard but you gotta know your math. Thanks for the vid. I'm enjoying the job.

[@SuperKyle309]

From a seasoned break operator this is excellent information packed in a short video. Well done

[@brutaljok3r]

Thanks for making this! I start a job as a press brake operator tomorrow and have no idea what to expect. Seeing this at least gives me an idea

[@DarkcreepSTREET]

How did it go

[@ruthlessrubberducky5729]

I saw a job listing for it and was definitely interested in learning it if I get an interview. Manufacturing is awesome. Good luck!

[@brutaljok3r]

@@DarkcreepSTREET It's a process! There's a ton to learn and know, but it's not impossible by any means.

[@DarkcreepSTREET]

@@brutaljok3r thanks for responding. Yeah I have interview and never done any type of this work.

[@beaubeckum7634]

I started a job a job as a brake operator at the beginning of this year.. feel seasoned now.

[@JmeJ83]

I've been working on a press brake for 12.5 years. It's hard work at times, but i enjoy the job. The press brakes we have are only 14 years old so are a lot more advanced than these older ones but the principles are exactly the same.

[@Reebus.LCU.]

I did this job for 10 years mate. Started off working on a promecam machine then a machine called the Hatfield. I was a setter so I'd just set it and a temp would run it off Enjoyed it. Great stuff

[@josueivanlopezmartinez3841]

The only trouble with this video it's that doesn't have a part two. By the way great crash course and thanks for sharing

[@dirtysworld100]

Been out of the game 3 years I needed this brush up. New job big money. Thank you

[@billmcyrus]

Thank you so much for this! I'm going to be starting a job in a truck and trailer shop next week and wanted to get an idea of what to expect with the press brake as it's one thing I don't have at home. This was very helpful.

[@mikedonaldson5911]

Remember that your radius of your bend will always turn out to be 0.16 times the length of your die opening (unless the radius of your punch is greater than the radius of your die opening) and your flange/bite length needs to be at least 77% of the opening of your die to bend. A shorter flange will always bend tighter because there is less material. Spring back has a .5-1 degree relationship when your radius is the same thickness as your material. Larger radius bends have a greater spring back. Keep your tooling clean, and remember not all metal is made the same even from the same sheet.

[@kmcwhq]

Excellent video with much information. Please make more videos like this!

[@bigbubba6032]

setup and ran press brakes for 38 yrs.........was always interesting

[@DarkcreepSTREET]

Was this hard to learn I suck at math I even told them on the phone interview and invited me to check on the shop

[@Vic-rf6hs]

@@DarkcreepSTREET you have to be extremely patient, creative, and willing to always learn (and basic trigonometry) ... it's definitely a stressful job at times but that's what being a machinist is all about

[@duramax78]

@@Vic-rf6hs you have too know math fairly good.

[@carlip]

1. The work piece does not actually stretch. The outside half does stretch, but inside half compresses in a bend. These forces mostly counter acts each other but tends to move the neutral axis inwards, meaning you should always make your blank slightly smaller. How much depends on a variety of factors. 2. There are 3 methods of bending, two mentioned here. Air bending and coining, bottoming was not mentioned. Coining actually requires so much force the metal "flows" out of the bend radius. Bottoming is just a best hope for the angle of the tooling. 3. The opening of the bottom die is a major factor in creating the inside bend radius, but not the only factor. Metal can only bend so much before it breaks or rips, this amount is 63% of the material thickness. This is known as a sharp bend and can be helpful in some cases where certain tooling is not available. 4. When creating a blank you need to know the finished dimensions. The first thing to write down is the material thickness, nominal is fine in almost every case. Then you need to know the inside radius, and not what the print says. I mean what actually comes out when you bend a piece of that material. GRAIN MATTERS, especially with aluminum. A rough guess is 5/32 of the V opening. With those numbers you can figure our your outside set back, this is the length of the radius plus the neutral axis. take the tangent of 1/2 your bend angle, so for 90 degrees use tan(45)*(material thickness+inside radius). Now we need to figure out the bend allowance! This is simply pi/180* inside radius+ K-factor * material thickness. The k-factor is a number that is usually fed into CAD software and never looked at again, but its very important. As mentioned earlier the neutral axis shifts INTO the part, the amount that it shifts is the K-factor, so it depends on the material tensile strength and type. Once you have the bend allowance you can divide it in 1/2. So to copy a 3" leg, subtract the outside set back, this gives the material that will always remain flat, then add the 1/2 bend allowance. That is your exact bend line. 5. The reason the part had to be struck twice is usually down to poor tool measurement or programming. A 2" Vee is not ever going to be 2". It could be 1.93" or 2.04", check the tolerance from the manufacturer. With a trigonometry you can accurately measure the opening perfectly. Just drop some round stock into the V. It must be large enough to not hit the bottom, but small enough to not poke out the top. Then drop a straight edge across the top that spans the V but does not droop. Now measure from the bottom contacting edge of the straight edge down to the top of round stock. You actually want to ignore the radius of the tool shoulder because the neutral axis is actually pivoting on the imaginary tangents. I spent 6 years in metal fab and had to work with the most ancient equipment that had no computers, it was a 1962 mechanical press. If anyone wants to know more I have some pictures and stuff from way back then that might help. But I highly recommend a book from the former head engineer at Cincinnati, "Fundamentals of Press Brake Tooling" by Ben Rapien. This book helped me teach myself how to do this job.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Ben Rapien was an awesome man, he taught me alot. I appreciate the technical information here, but this video is just a crash course for beginners!!!

[@TileNation]

Great basic video thanks for taking the time.

[@prod-Sane]

Certainly an interesting and informational video. I begun working as a press brake operator at my summerjob 3weeks ago, using some finnish coastone and aliko CNC press brakes. No idea about bending whatsoever before working there, now programming and bending multiple different bends with various different angles. I think the best tip i can give with my experience in choosing the VEE and R is, VEE size should be material strenght times 6 and R should be material strenght. Not certain if that rule applies with inches since we use metric system here.

[@davidshaw1745]

Will Ferrel's brother just taught us how to run a press brake. Good video, thank you.

[@murdaworthsavage8178]

This video is going to help me in my journey of next level forming thank you brother make more videos when you get the chance lol.

[@Panzerabwehr]

Awesome video! This is more an kind of art than simply produce stuff. I mean with a state of the art press brake, for example from Bystronic , half of the things he talks about the machine does automatically. But I would love to see mir such videos.

[@emptynite7359]

spent a few years running a bystronic beyeler 10 ft brake with 6 axis back gauge and honestly I preferred it over the new amada hg1303. fully independent backgauge fingers is a dream compared to X1/X2 on a rail. and for an older older brake operator like myself, safety systems like light curtains and light bars just slow everything down 😂😂

[@francescosaccaggi6427]

Hell yea! Nice Cincinnati Press Brake, what a beauty!

[@kevinw9625]

This was a good video. It started to take me back to my conduit bending days. I wouldn't mind seeing more shop videos like this.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Thank you! I am going to try to make more videos on other machines we have in the near future.

[@staffanoberg2538]

If there are high surface finish requirements when press brake/edge bending, the Swedish product Tribotextil™ can be applied in the pressing/bending tool and mechanically protect the sheet metal from scratches and other damages. Tribotextil™ is an extremely thin and very strong textile that in this process replaces lubricants in the tool and also protects the stamping tools from wear and coatings.

[@staffanoberg2538]

👍

[@charleslangford6072]

This man knows his machine. Brilliant.

[@SmallPressBrake]

thank you for making this

[@Apple-Bay]

WOW !!!! very useful information ... thanks

[@Smooththatsme]

No doubt, this guy knows his stuff

[@pressoperatorexperiencethe1652]

keep up the good work

[@emptynite7359]

oh man, an old Cincinnati brake and a rack full of old american style tools. this takes me back to my early days of learning to run a brake. this is a great beginner video though. anyone who can eyeball a slightly underbent 90 has some serious time on a machine lol

[@aaronsalvesen4553]

Amazing!

[@larrynoller3014]

You left out that hot rolled and cold rolled steel have different bend deductions. No Back Gage?

[@johnbowman9150]

Thanks I’m starting a new job using a machine like this😎

[@pressoperatorexperiencethe1652]

nice job operating

[@PTS20242]

Wow I'm a cnc Turner. This looks so complicated. I would like to learn it.

[@jakeshaw6827]

We have these where i work that from what ive Date back to the 50s and 60s

[@brianschaffner8372]

hello id love to see more of how to videos of bending

[@jilm2547]

Hi, great video must say finally someone explains some basic concepts about this great cincinnati controller. Would you mind if i write a transcription of your video to the spanish for those no English speakers?

[@wheelman007]

Can you make more videos on bump forming and setting the crown a more advanced video.

[@duramax78]

Bump forming is just taking the radius you want and how much materiel you’ll use, so let’s say you want a 90 degree 10” radius you’d mark the piece where you want the radius to start and mark the piece 2.5” for those numbers mentioned above, you’d mark it 7 times .375 apart, and you hit every line at 12 degrees, you’ll be damn close a bit under what you’d want then you just hit the middle to bring it too 90 degrees.

[@joshuaruiz8449]

Please make more brake press videos.

[@user-bw8ld4rb9i]

Thanks

[@kingcuan5261]

Die selection= for 0-5mm thickness material thickness x5 , 5-9 mm material thickness x8 and 10mm above material thickness x10

[@NANTONGVASIAMACHINERYCOLTD]

Nice machine

[@mrgreenswelding2853]

Can you tell me why when trying to lower the top die slowly , like tapping the foot pedal the die bounces. At work when I try to pinch the sheet I can't lower bit by bit, the hydraulics bounce. Thanks sharn

[@BulletProofCupid7]

You're probably working on a more modern pressbrake. I think it's a matter of safety, that is if your finger/hand get pinched by the part or the punch you're most likely to release the pedal or press it with greater force which is obviously caused by pain and panic. In both cases modern pressbrakes stop the cycle and retract a little bit for you to have chance of getting your hand out. Free hand bending in such case is a little bit of pain in the ass however with all of those precise modular CNC back gauges nowadays you rarely need to use it. Also Iris Lazersafe has a cool function that lets you stop the punch right over the material in order to correct the position of the plate. Quite useful in that case.

[@duramax78]

@@BulletProofCupid7 or could be a older machine with the seals shot, but if it’s a newer brake he has something set wrong, play around.

[@BulletProofCupid7]

@@duramax78 if it's an old machine, go ahead and play around. It most likely needs maintenance anyway. Also older pressbrakes tend to be easier to play around with and are far from being safe anyway, for many of reasons. If it's new pressbrake contact service department of that pressbrake first. If it's new it's most likely that in order to change that you'll need to play with parameters. If you know what you're doing than go ahead but if you're about to blindly play around with parameters you better order service for it first. If you screw up you can make a major and costly mistake. Not to mention the safety side of this action.

[@Shane-gc2eg]

the crown actually bends slightly as you hit hard materials that's why the crown is there.

[@purpledude5526]

I work on an HFB 1704 Amada 190 ton 14 foot brake with Blackmax Light curtains. 1) I ran a Cincinatti before and they suck. I saw those punches and dies in your rack and cringed because I remember the days of forklifting dies into a brake just like that. 2) Even on my brake , which is an 8 axis brake, I had to eyeballs some bends using prick marks.

[@purpledude5526]

While this is a cool video I would never train a person on a Brake like this. Technology has moved forward so much that learning this brake would be a serious setback. Even on my HFB 1704 which is a 1998 brake, its a damn dinosaur. Im currently looking for a new job simply because If I stay where I am I wont ever be able to catch back up and I have about 20 more years before retirement.

[@purpledude5526]

I would also like to add , make sure they Know this equation. 1/3 thickness , Plus the radius , Times 1.5708. Picked this up 20 years ago and that equation holds true today. It will get you about .030 close or less.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

We are a job shop. Every day we set this up to make 1 or 2 bends and tear down for the next job. I do understand the newer press brakes are much more advanced, it is just more than we need. In a production setting, you are correct this is not the best. This press actually only gets used about 15 hours a week, which makes the cost of a modern replacement out of reach. The main goal is you would not believe the number of people I interviewed over the years that say they are a press brake operator and they dont even know basic die selection or anything except put a piece in to a back gauge and push the pedal. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@purpledude5526]

@@woodchucktinman9893 funny enough , I know all too well how many people walk through the door not knowing anything about a brake and saying they have experience. In my 2 year tenure so far at the shop i'm at we had 9 people come in saying they know stuff and know nothing. Most quit right away or get fired. Its so bad that the boss actually brings the applicant out to us and we get to question them and determine what they know. 1 Question I always ask is "How good are you at Geometry and Trigonometry?" That one shuts most of them down. The guy I work with goes the another route with blueprints.

[@duramax78]

@@purpledude5526 I’m a grade 9 drop out ran brakes for around 20 years, honestly give me a guy that has been a helper on a brake for 3 years compared to a guy coming outta college with trig and geo I’d guarantee you in a month the helper would know more than the college graduate.

[@theghostofcornpop4175]

Watching in the UK , I work trumpf and bystronic machines

[@emptynite7359]

trumpf is definitely the king of brakes, and amada is no slouch (especially with the lower cost vs trumpf) but personally I'm a big fan of bystronic.

[@theghostofcornpop4175]

@@emptynite7359 yea 💯 , I've worked on all of them , even an old Edwards Pearson press which I believe was what became bystronic , the very newest trumpf presses look amazing sadly tho lots of the big companies are now turning to robots instead of humans ☹️

[@jibguy6516]

Awesome as I started to work at a shop that has 33-year-old press break and some other punch machine and a CnC beauty n nobody wants to teach me shit and show me and I want to learn!

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I am happy to help! When I first started I had a lot of guys refuse to help, even tell me wrong on purpose! They are unfortunately miserable people.

[@jibguy6516]

Charles Wilke goddamn Charlie teach me about these fucking stupid old machines and then beauty with CNC that’s 30 years old or 20 I don’t know they won’t tell me I want to learn they build better machines back then they do now that I want know!!

[@tradinwarstoriez5641]

@@jibguy6516 How did you even get the job?

[@emptynite7359]

in sorry to hear that man :/ I know this an old comment but I never understood the mentality of some folks who don't wanna teach the new guy anything. I've been running brakes for 25 years and I've never once withheld knowledge from someone who showed interest. hoarding knowledge is for weak minded folks who want to try and make themselves "essential", and to feed their ego. "I'm the brake operator, I'm important!". but they just end up hurting production and quality. when everyone can run the machine, everybody wins.

[@duramax78]

@@emptynite7359 I’ve ran brakes for 20 years, some guys are assholes I like showing the junior guys.

[@TheMarkio1988]

Want to apply for a press brake operator job... how much experience is really needed and can it be picked up pretty quick? I’m an experienced cnc operator but never done press

[@woodchucktinman9893]

It can be picked up pretty quick. Especially now many places will be willing to teach you because of a shortage of people willing to work. Best wishes.

[@TheMarkio1988]

@@woodchucktinman9893 that’s good to know!! Thanks Charles 👍🏻

[@Againstthegrain247]

Can I please 🙏 meet you? I've been on the press brake for 8 months I've been doing setups.....id love to have you teach me some stuff.

[@rjmcmooseknuckle]

Ccool stuff , a back stop would help alot lol Make your mute offset a few inches bigger and voila!!! you can bend your fingers haha

[@Carson_Van_McUber]

Laser curtains are a pain in the neck, just be glad you don't have to deal with the safety lasers that are attached to the ram and continually have to adjust them when you put different profiled punches in. Luckily I get to work on the press brake that has no lasers most of the time.

[@Carson_Van_McUber]

​@I Make Reddit Users Cry KZbin doesn't provide users IP address to other KZbin users. I'm 200% serious.

[@nugsymalone1247]

Are laser curtains on the sides of the press? At my last job we used a brake press from 91' and the only safety was hitting the red button so it wouldn't run. The owner just expected people to, "not be stupid". He gets osha fines anytime they show up or someone calls them on the place.

[@brandynm5215]

@I Make Reddit Users Cry The brake press at my school has no lasers lol. But I live in Canada where people dont sue others for their own stupidity.

[@brandynm5215]

@I Make Reddit Users Cry yes its slow as shit, wouldnt be ideal for production. its an old brake, doesnt even have cnc

[@do0rkn0b]

@I Make Reddit Users Cry oh stop crying, if you're too incompetent to run a brake press without a laser you shouldn't be using it at all.

[@andrewwolf4430]

1/4 inch thick??? My press brake is only 20 tons but works very well with the .005 inch thick material I usually work with

[@Catlover7o2_3d]

Where’s the backstop? I remember my dad talking about walking to school both ways uphill and scribing his plate before bending it. “When I was your age” he used to say.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

We have manual backstops, but not worth setting up for a couple of bends.

[@KushyKaar420]

@@woodchucktinman9893 Cute "not worth setting up" there are tricks of the trade that will save you the trouble of "eyeballing" if even for a couple parts that might become scrap because you didn't line up correctly.

[@FetamWoW]

@@KushyKaar420 Pretty sure this guy knows what he is doing, don't think someone with the name Kushy with 420 on the end has more experience then this dude.

[@duramax78]

@@FetamWoW exactly video wasn’t about back stops, I could mention many things he shoulda done but he’s explaining something in particular.

[@do0rkn0b]

why in the world would you not use the back gauge?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Our back gauge is set up manually. We mostly run 1 or 2 parts at a time, no production. We put center dots for the first part anyway, the times we run more than a few parts the same we do set them. Thank you for watching.

[@phillhuddleston9445]

When lawyers started designing machinery and tools production rates and some common sense started declining.

[@Psychsmoothie]

Maybe make a vid of k factor. That would help a lot of noobies

[@nealblackburn8628]

2 3/4 '' + 1/4 '' = 3 '' i don 't think so did the metal bend around zero radius

[@jonathan.jaques5785]

When you bend something you are measuring to the inside but you gain the material thickness back on the outside of the bend so he is correct

[@AdriaticGamingOdyssey]

That’s museum type press brake. 50 years old. :) Make video with delem control unit.

[@theghostofcornpop4175]

Thank God we have the metric system in the UK 🇬🇧😂😂😂

[@KushyKaar420]

Thank God we don't in the US.

[@theghostofcornpop4175]

@@KushyKaar420 😂😂😂

[@KushyKaar420]

@@theghostofcornpop4175 hey I dont knock it had to say it though. Most of my work is done in the metric system

[@talktoeric]

I'm starting this type of job today. I'd like to know how to build things out of metal and have my own company.

[@orokidzorozco3955]

Hire me i have over 22 yrs of experience with press brakes

[@talktoeric]

@@orokidzorozco3955 What do you learn over 22 years that someone with only 2 years experience knows?

[@orokidzorozco3955]

Over the years you can learn many techniques that can make you a professional press brake operator.. you can learn how to use press brake tooling properly and choose the best and efficient bend sequence and many other things

[@talktoeric]

@@orokidzorozco3955 I got promoted to quality inspector, then they terminated me because I'm hearing-impaired and thought the forklifts would be too much of a safety hazard. I was there for less than 4 months.

[@orokidzorozco3955]

Do you still work with press brakes?

[@tradinwarstoriez5641]

3:09 xD

[@rameshsundas1543]

dear sir i am also cnc press brake operator can send me visa i all steel company allround working i am from nepal

[@rishaljhajhria3274]

You can apply for Australia, here too much demand of CNC press brake operator for bending of stainless steel. Thanks

[@docvaliant721]

Smartest thing is to not stick your fingers in it.

[@Matt-xs4vs]

Clamp position? It's called a pinch point!!!!!!

[@cynthiayoung176]

Is this also a job that a 26 year old woman can do? I’m thinking about applying for a press brake operator position because ya girl needs more money lol

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Yes, it is not very difficult to learn how to use a press brake!

[@BulletProofCupid7]

I know a lot of girls that work on press brakes. It depends on what machine you will be given. If it's more modern CNC machine then no problem at all, the machine does most of the job for you, however on machine like this one on the video you need basic understanding of how different materials behave during bending, calculating the bend allowance and required tonnage to make the bend. It's not rocket science and if your employer will give you training I think you can easily do it. Although as far as physical strength goes it depends. Sometimes they make you bend large plates that are quite heavy. If your employer gives you a crane to work with thats one way to make it easier, otherwise usually it's a 2-3-or more man job depending on how big the plate is so usually it's not a problem to ask a colleague to help you out. Otherwise it's up to you to evaluate wether you're up to the task or not. If it's a company with small part production I'd say you will certainly do fine, if it's heavy duty bending it's up to you to decide.

[@BulletProofCupid7]

Also lemme correct myself, most of the time in most factories you don't need to care about bend allowances and calculating anything because there are people that do it for you. But sometimes it's actually necessary so...you know

[@cristianortega6583]

Light curtains but no back stop ?!!👎🏽

[@woodchucktinman9893]

We are a job shop and mostly run 1 or 2 of something, no production. Our back stops are manual and the first part is used to set them anyway. We set our top stop no more than 1/4 inch above the part to avoid a pinch point so the mute position can be set to match. Thank you for watching!

[@monkeypete5175]

As if there wasnt enough setup lol