Prototype Press Brake: Setup, Tools and Bending Work

[@TronVila]

Outstanding design, execution, and presentation. Thank you for sharing with us! Using equipment you built that is nicer than what you can buy always results in years of satisfying smiles when you use it to create more cool things

[@matteonicoli]

man I love this press brake design!!! not only quality but that it works on one hydrolic cilinder and the open sides of course. Could you explain more about the connection points, barings, and back of the design. In any case, very much concratulations with this excellent piece of engineering !

[@GeoffTV2]

Recommended by Stefan Gotteswinter (I think you'll get a few of us) and I'm glad I came here to see your superb engineering skills. Thanks for sharing the details on this machine, it looks fabulous. I shall have a look at some of your other videos.

[@anengineersfindings]

Thanks, hope you like the rest of them.

[@machineshopatthebottomofth3213]

Wow really impressive work! Rarely do we have the luxury of time to do such a nice job (either at work or home!) I am glad you have managed to find the time to produce such impressive products and well made videos 😊

[@anengineersfindings]

Many thanks. The way I see it, one must off and on take the time to do such projects, because this teaches you things you can't learn in any other way.

[@thatdutchtoolboy1994]

Beautiful. A very nice piece of engineering. Your construction has a certain technical elegance that I like very much. Kudos to you Alex. You´ve done a great job.

[@mrzigwot]

What sort of person scrapes a press brake??? A legend!

[@anengineersfindings]

:D :D You see, I had no possibility to machine these long parts this exact. I have no access to such a large mill or surface grinder to machine this in one operation. But you can scrape such parts quite easily, regardless of how long they are (if you accept the sweat ;)). Thanks, Alex

[@somebodyelse6673]

@@anengineersfindings - What did you use to check for flatness while scraping? 1.2 meter straight edge? Autocollimator? Repeat-o-meter?

[@anengineersfindings]

@@somebodyelse6673 Right, I made a 1.2m straight edge for this purpose. I'm currently filming a video about making this straight edge, in case you're interested. Thanks, Alex

[@somebodyelse6673]

@@anengineersfindings - I am indeed interested. You post it, I will watch it!

[@pauldorman]

Funny how I just encouraged you to make more videos - three new videos in 5 days! Awesome!

[@TheBartvdv]

That's a very sexy brake press! Your prototype looks better than the big manufacturers finished product! Well done and thanks for sharing!

[@anengineersfindings]

:D Thanks!

[@PeteBrubaker]

This is awesome! I'd love to see another video on this talking about how you sized the rails, cylinder, and bearing joints! I have a bunch of dies sitting the shop collecting dust!

[@brucewilliams6292]

Alex, your press-brake it truly a thing of beauty. It is a fantastic piece of equipment and you are very talented person.

[@anengineersfindings]

Thank you!

[@tsviper]

Stefan gott..... Recommended to watch and subscribe. I do understand why! Great work thanks for sharing

[@anengineersfindings]

Thank you!

[@priosminimus6969]

Very nice! I do the adjusting of the lower rail by self alignment with a complete tool set - then I fix the screws.

[@x_ph1l]

What a nicely engineered press brake! It would've been cool to add some CNC capabilities to it for serial production parts.

[@StefanGotteswinter]

Alex, du spinnst doch :-D Sehr schöne konstruktion und unheimlich sauber gebaut - Mit gefällt die verhältnissmäßig filigrane Konstruktion, da hat sich ganz klar jemand Gedanken gemacht. Hast du die Messung Ober- zu Unterbalken auch mal bei einer kommerziellen Abkantpresse machen können? Deine hat ja Maschinenbett-Qualität. Danke fürs Zeigen!

[@jeremyshalala6843]

You guys should do a collaboration or something! By far 2 of my favourite engineers / machinists on youtube.

[@anengineersfindings]

Servus Stefan! Sehr gute Frage.... Nein, von den kommerziellen Maschinen hab ich keine Messwerte. Aber ich weiß, dass mit meinen schmalen Prismen 0,04mm Presstiefe ca. einem Winkelgrad entspricht. Folglich muss man schon im Hundertstel-Bereich sein, wenn man filigrane, exakte Teile machen will. Bei einer Firma hab ich unlängst Teile verarbeitet, die mit einer teueren Abkantpresse im Haus gekantet wurden. Dort arbeitet ein Vollzeit-Abkanter. Die Winkeldifferenz der Teile auf einer Länge von ca. 400mm war geschätzt ein Grad, aber mit breitem Gesenk gekantet.

[@stevendoesburg6555]

Hi Stefan, thanks for recommending this! I'm glad to know about this channel.

[@lyndonthan4350]

I've been wanting a press brake for some time, and found this video a wonderful inspiration, to also consider building my own. Some interesting features of your design: The single cylinder. This requires a heavy arm structure across the rear to spread the forces to the periphery. This also has the disadvantage of obstructing the rear of the machine for very deep parts. Two advantages come to mind: 1: weight can be saved on the main C-frames since they can be stabilized against out of plane buckling by the large cross member that supports the cylinder. Also, overall height is minimized since most of the actuator components are placed below the top of the frame. I also like how this keeps more weight in the lower part of the machine, as some of the press brakes out there are very top heavy, which makes moving them around harder and dangerous. I'm surprised you did not opt to go with standard euro style tooling for the dies. Why not I wonder? The upper portion does look like it could accept standard euro style punches, but cannot tell for sure. I have gathered some press brake tooling and like to salivate over these large chunks of tool, or at least hardened, steel. I'm also surprised at the linear bearings. They appear a little expensive, and not that strong, and rather short. The hydraulic controls appear simple, but very effective. An absolutely lovely machine.

[@lyndonthan4350]

I also like that there is a large distance between the bottom and top beams ( the large space means you have lots of versatility to place various things between those beams.

[@465maltbie]

Very nicely made I remember the photos of you machining those plates...Charles

[@ROBRENZ]

Beautiful design and execution! ATB, Robin

[@dainius4168]

Wanted to write that this right in line with Renzetti and Gotteswinter equipment and tolerances but lo and behold, the whole gang is in the comments already :) impressive work and also a very pleasing design!

[@anengineersfindings]

Thanks, glad if you enjoyed the video.

[@filippomassara930]

Wow. That's completely overt the top quality. I mean how many useful information and nice talking!!

[@stevendoesburg6555]

That is a gorgeous press, well done!

[@user-xr7xk4qk6y]

A work of art and truly instructional, thanks

[@googacct]

Very nice press brake. When I use the press brake that fits on my hydraulic press, I use a set of angle gages I made from sheet metal. I used a sine block to set the angles. That way I can measure the angle of the bend without having to remove the part from the brake.

[@anengineersfindings]

Very nice. I tend to do it with corrections, because the spring back can be quite different from setup to setup.

[@TLervis]

That thing is a work of art.

[@bradthayer6782]

Came over from Stefan’s site. Excellent work!

[@gregepp3082]

Hi Alex! I sent you an email as well. I would love to purchase this design so I can build my own. It's aesthetically pleasing and functionally amazing. You are extremely talented. Hats off to you sir.

[@lawrenceveinotte]

Your brake looks very nice, some brakes have the bottom girder ground with a crown in them, on those machines you do your tooling setups in the center, also on some brakes the upper girder is held in such a way it has to use force to move it down, by doing this you eliminate the concern of wear in all of the pivot points, lets say your bending a small part, before the part starts to bend it can hold the weight of the upper girder, but as the part bends it looses it's strength and can no longer hold the weight of the upper girder and the girder drops a little from all the clearance in the pivot points, when everything is new you may not notice this, but as time goes on you will, accupress on their older machines, had a way of setting this on the guides that held the upper girder, newer cnc machines compensate for this wear.

[@The_Unobtainium]

Literally blown my mind! Wow!

[@tomthompson7400]

That is an exquisite folder ,,, well done.

[@shedfullnow2007]

Ive been waiting for this, thanks

[@adambergendorff2702]

Very impressive build!

[@tomwagemans1872]

That's a nice press break. Good job!

[@andrewwolf4430]

Very interesting. I have a small business forming very small parts using cnc servo electric press brakes built in the mid 1990’s by a now defunct company called RACE. They were decades ahead of the industry

[@lawmate]

Very nice press. Well done on the design and build!

[@anengineersfindings]

Thank you!

[@unpopular_mechanics]

Hi, 1.2312 tool steel is known as P20 in the U.S. and possibly other places. Thanks, great press break and great video.

[@anengineersfindings]

Many thanks for the info! Best regards, Alex.

[@Gottenhimfella]

When I was a young engineering designer in a small nation, supply sources were so limited (or perhaps more accurately we were so ignorant) that we often only knew steels by their trade names, in this case "Atlas Brake Die". We specified "Keewatin" instead of "O1", and "Impacto" instead of 8620 Case Hardening Steel. I remember specifying "Ultimo 4" for stub axles on heavy special purpose transporters; I presume it was 4340. I guess Atlas was just about our only option!

[@Nyson]

Work of art. Please more details in the design and build. CAD model if possible.

[@gatyair82]

I like it. You made a watchmaker's press brake.

[@CraigsWorkshop]

Beautiful work Alex - my hat is off to you. I knew it was going to be a good video when you started talking about the deflection of the beams when the press is doing work. Not enough people building bending brakes or press brakes talk about that! I will have to subscribe immediately. Stefan suggested to come and look at your channel. I'm glad I did! Cheers, Craig

[@anengineersfindings]

Thank you very much, Craig. Good point, I always wondered why people aren't more sensitized toward this. Particularly since it messes with the result, this is not just an academic problem.

[@bartharkemametalworks2299]

Great Build!

[@S_Rios]

Brilliant work, Alex. And thank you for the explanations about the design and fabrication of the press. I watched these videos long ago, but I just thought to ask about the design tolerances of the mechanism. Would you please be so kind to share some literature on how to include GD&T in the design of such an apparatus? I know it is not a basic topic, but I'm shure you can point me and others in the right direction. Vielen Dank!

[@rickhaass1133]

very...very nice brake

[@captcarlos]

Alex, stunning design, brilliantly executed. I'm thinking these should be avalable for purchase as well as a 600 & 400mm version. The smallest with a ports power style hand pump. Thank you for showing us.

[@anengineersfindings]

Many thanks for your encouraging words. I logged my hours and expenses for this project to see if this press could be economically produced. I'm sure, however, it would only be economical, if a fair number would be produced. Thanks!

[@mikequas4384]

​Hello from Wisconsin! If you are keeping track of interested people, you can count me in. That is an impressive brake you have built.

[@sdttnkara]

Please explain the bearing design details in a further video.

[@anengineersfindings]

I'll try to if I find the time. Thanks.

[@_the_Chad_]

Incredible work!

[@bclare2544]

Very impressive Alex.

[@neverwipe]

That is the nicest press brake I've seen, including out of the commercial machines. Skeletonizing the frame like that to remove unneeded material is a great touch. I'm planning to make a press brake myself. My design will be more similar to your first press brake you show in the photo. The challenge is getting the 2 hydraulic cylinders synchronized. How did you do that in your first press brake?

[@DudleyToolwright]

Wonderful job. I'll take one.

[@anengineersfindings]

:D Thank you for your kind comments, Sir. It seems you've chewed through all of my videos in the last few days.

[@bigbird2100]

Great video beaut of a machine if you require different radius on material change the width of bottom V bed, use inside dimensions of part for bed line 👍

[@alaskanken2132]

I love it. Great work 👏

[@twoguysoneworkshop8744]

Brutal! Genau so etwas brauche ich auch :-) Extrem gut umgesetzt...

[@anengineersfindings]

Danke, sehr nett. Bin sehr froh über die Presse, wenngleich sie mich auch sehr viel Nerven gekostet hat, bis sie fertig war.

[@therandomweberlife5855]

Hope you still check back to the comments, even though this vid is a year old. First off fantastic job! Not many people are willing to start a project like this, let alone finish and have the finished product turn out so nice. My question is, how did you figure out the size of the lever arms? I've never seen a press like this, so have no real references on how much force a steel lever can take in this application before failing. Thanks!

[@anengineersfindings]

Hello and thank you for your nice comment. The sizing of the lever arms, or more generally the whole press structure, is a quite standard engineering task. What's usually done is to calculate the maximum allowable forces for a part by using the part geometry (cross section or moment of area) and material properties (yield or fatigue strength) as input. This result is compared to the forces on the part to be expected in service to eventually come up with the safety factor.

[@chrisstephens6673]

Beautiful machine, it must have cost thousands of your favourite currency both in time and materials even for a home build.

[@HP_rep_mek]

Impressive build!

[@MrWoowootila]

Well built. Do you really need need that sort of precision though with a press brake? Also you are always limited in width or length of a piece you are bending depending on the brakes design. Open on the sides would be beneficial in a smaller shop though. Can’t wait to finish the video to see it in action.

[@MegaCountach]

Nice work! Cheers, Doug

[@anengineersfindings]

Thanks, greetings, Alex

[@gearloose703]

Next time I am buying a press brake I will ask is it hand scraped or surface ground.

[@indiYmoto]

Superb! loved your work grain direction, sheet thickness and behaviour in different spots of sheet metal can be only compensated in a LVD press brake i guess. more power to you 🙏🏻 love from india 🇮🇳

[@tituscassiusseverus6303]

Wow, reminds me of my apprenticeship days, but I was using cnc back then and thought taking more than 2 hits at a bend was a pain.

[@anengineersfindings]

:D Indeed it's a pain if you need to correct, but I was lazy and didn't make a lookup table beforehand.

[@neffk]

beautiful

[@daveb1870]

Very interesting, what in the world would you be bending that would require such a high precision fab shop piece of equipment?

[@petsatcom]

Great Job nice work

[@helldiablo8471]

Hello can you explain the bearing preload system in the links im not sure i understood ? Are the outside bearing races slotted as in "cut along axis" so as you tighten the bolt it tightens the outer race on the nearings balls ? Thanks

[@ajfreeze215]

that's just awesome!!!

[@OKHygrow]

Stunning work!! What was the total cost of this machine when compete?

[@CalvinoBear]

Inspirational!

[@alexandrubudu541]

Hello, can you post please the calcul formula for the ram depth distance for getting a desired angle? Thank you.

[@mctavishmcardle6906]

fascinating!

[@andypughtube]

I wonder if a length of LED self-adhesive strip lighting under the front of the beam would make it easier to see the setup lines?

[@anengineersfindings]

Good idea, thanks!

[@MuellerNick]

Hi Fif! Now that's an interesting construction! And a nice build too! The force multplieer (leverage) seems to be 1:3, right? I'd like to know what is the stroke in the front and what is the force in the front?

[@anengineersfindings]

Servus Nick! Die Presskraft liegt wie im Video erwähnt bei max. 40t. Den Hub der Oberwange weiß ich nicht genau auswendig, er ist aber bei ca. 35mm, damit die Unterwerkzeughöhe nicht so heikel ist. Herzliche Grüsse, Fif

[@hi_is_this_clorox_bleach]

Thank you

[@anengineersfindings]

Glad you like the video, thanks.

[@burritocamarena2666]

HHi there!how much it cost the press brake?

[@vibram500]

Hi Alex, Is there any chance to buy you plans for this? (and other useful stuff such as your rotary table ;) I hope you will find time to publish them Best regards and awesome work

[@anengineersfindings]

Sorry, until now I haven't found time yet to arrange a set of plans. Also I was a bit hesitant, because I'd have to provide a redesigned version with imperial wall thicknesses, otherwise it would be quite infeasible for US and England based builders. Nevertheless, thanks for your input, which puts this task on my radar again.

[@vibram500]

Hi Alex, any chance you worked on it? Despite the increase of raw materials. Best regards

[@martinnovak3949]

@@vibram500 I would buy imperial plans!

[@vibram500]

I still hope to buy plan one day from Alex

[@jackieshelton5121]

Hello Alex, i was curious if you would be interested in selling your plans in order to make this press. I would very much like to make a press break like this. I was impressed by this design, and like your ingenuity in your videos, Thank you for your time and efforts.

[@anengineersfindings]

Many thanks for your nice comment. You caught me off guard, you see until now I haven't had time to make a set of plans for that press brake, Sorry.

[@jackieshelton5121]

​@@anengineersfindings I understand, if you do down the road have the means and time please let me know. Thank you Alex.

[@bob5074]

This is a beautiful press! You did not explain, does this do metric or imperial angles?

[@anengineersfindings]

;)

[@neffk]

How much does the parallelism of the gap deteriorate with an asymetric load? I checked some sales literature (Amada and Baileigh) but couldn't find anything about it. What would be a reasonable number?

[@anengineersfindings]

Good question, however, a reasonable number can only be given if a certain force is defined. E.g. a 10" wide and 1/8" thick sheet being bent in a 1" wide prism at 2 feet off the press' center. With that, measure the bending gap deterioration. Unfortunately, to my best knowledge, such a test is not defined yet. This way one could nicely and quantitatively compare bending presses precision.

[@roguecnc788]

10 micron runout between top and bottom 😮

[@jmc6940]

Wow, impressive. How do you find the time?

[@anengineersfindings]

Good question... I guess I pay the penalty for my work as time slips by like sand through my fingers.

[@C33Chevy]

Is there no back stop

[@jg6261]

what's the tonnage on this brake?

[@Mcss-lu5hv]

Subscribed

[@banefsej]

wow nice mn

[@arnljotseem8794]

Awesome. You must have put considerable time into this. I assume bending sheet metal is part of your daily or frequent work.

[@anengineersfindings]

Yes to both, thanks!

[@mattadams363]

would you be interested in sharing the full design?

[@anengineersfindings]

I'll think about making plans for it, if I find the time to do that. Thanks for your interest.

[@ukulelefatman]

Stefan sent me.

[@thiagosanchez4453]

🖖

[@sergiyshelkunov7913]

Taking off my hat.

[@marksarovich5534]

I wonder, do you laugh at the cowboys making "press brakes" with bottle jacks from China??

[@anengineersfindings]

Actually, I admire good improvisations. As long as they work for the job at hand.

[@Mcss-lu5hv]

That would be me. Less than a grand in the project and can bend 12” of 3/8s and 36” 5/16s pretty accurately. I’m building parts for my truck and Jeep. Not precision work within 1000s of an inch but will work for what I need. I used the SWAG HD 40” finger brake kit and a custom frame.