Press Braking… What Is It?

What is Press Braking? A press braking machine’s primary function is to bend / form sheet metal; they do this by forming predetermined bends (in line with your CAD/CAM design), by clamping the sheet metal between the require punch and die. Where is it useful? Press braking has a wide range of applications – basically it is used wherever a dimension needs to be added to a flat plane of sheet metal. We see it being used across all industries and sectors, however most commonly for architectural builds, construction, engineering and transport. Because press braking has such adaptable capabilities, it has the potential to take on those forming operations that require profiles for parts that are smaller than average, and may not be identical. Using press braking for manufacturing parts is typically used to form parts for HVAC (heating, ventilation or air conditioning) systems and buildings components, which means that with the right tooling, we can use the machines a bit more diversely and creatively for certain applications. We’re the proud owners of one of the world’s most foremost press brakes, and the expertise of operators who receive regular and ongoing training. Our fleet of machines enable us to carry out a huge workload in a relatively short period of time – we have 4 incredibly productive CNC press brake machines, one 170 tonnes, 7 axis press brake, two 130 tonne brake presses and one 80 tonne press brake. Because we run on a 24-hour production schedule, we’re able to boast that we have unrivalled lead times, and can perform complex folds within rapid and impressive time frames. This isn’t to say, however, that we rush our projects, and just try and hammer them out as quickly as possible without considering the quality. Though we’re supremely proud of the lead times we achieve, we always analyse your technical design diligently, so we’re guaranteed to provide you with goods that meet your expectations perfectly and incredibly accurately (or even exceed them!). Here at SSC, with our 170 tonne press, we can bend up to lengths of 3 metres long, based on 6mm mild / carbon steel, 4mm stainless steel and 10mm aluminium. Please note that these lengths can also depend on the type of design and the flange length required, as this is based on using the correct vee for that thickness. We carry out daily maintenance checks on our press braking machines so we know with 100% confidence that we will produce world class parts. SSC Laser are proud to excel in our design services and machinery capabilities, while boasting some of the best press brake operators around who know their way around each tool and process like the back of their hand. CAD/CAM Services are also provided as and where necessary, for those of you who don’t have a current drawing to work from and are looking for some skilled technical advice (you can meet one of our team here!); we can also make adjustments to existing drawings in order to result in success. What are the benefits of Press Braking? The largest advantage to press braking is its flexibility – we can manufacture virtually any part size or shape, at a relatively modest cost. Our machines are manually fed, meaning a skilled operator is present watching progress and feeding metals, and basically ensuring that everything is running smoothly – this provides the most accurate pre-set dimension for the bend. We believe our press braking services are superior due to the technologically advanced machines we invest in, giving more diverse bend capabilities, and coupled with our 24/7 run time and multi-site operations, we can offer industry leading lead times.

For more information on Press Braking… What Is It? talk to SSC Laser Cutting