From mechanical sheet metal processing in the 18th century to the fully automated double bending machine of the digital age. The history of the bending machine continues.

 

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Rolling mill for mechanical plate production | © Morphart &#; stock.adobe.com

Manually operated brake, end of the 19th century | Illustration from: Otto Lueger, Lexikon der gesamten Technik,

69-MH-4/1 series manual bending machine with machine frame, one of the first machines from Jorns, around | © Jorns AG

82-NC series hydraulic bending machine, 4 m long, one of the first NC-controlled bending machines from Jorns, around | © Jorns AG

Fully automated Jorns double bending machine JDB, 12.2 m long, bending capacity 3 mm steel sheet, | © Jorns AG

The Industrial Revolution: mechanical metalworking in grand style
One thing had not changed in metalworking by the middle of the 18th century: it was still very hard manual labour. But come the Industrial Revolution, more and more threaded rods made of wood and wooden beams were replaced by metal parts; the closing function also consisted of levers, control shafts and eccentric bearings of metal. The wooden bending table was often reinforced with metal, the so-called edge rail, to achieve exact bending results. And mechanical sheet metal production really took off at the end of the 18th century when the English industrialist John Wilkinson invented the reversing rolling mill.

Middle of the 19th century: the first &#;sheet metal bending brakes&#; are built
Metal sheets were now available in abundance and consequently their processing was also quickly mechanised. The first bending machines were called &#;sheet metal bending brakes&#; or &#;folding benches&#; around . They were real heavyweights, but they certainly made work easier. Hydraulics then came onto the scene: the locking lever and bending tools were powered by one or several hydraulic cylinders and controlled with a simple lever valve. The shears were initially only moved manually by pure momentum, but later on these were also powered hydraulically. For a long time, the position of the bend was defined with a folding rule or template. These were joined by the first adjustable, manually-powered back stop systems later on.

Bending systems became increasingly electrified between the beginning and middle of the 20th century. The first simple control systems were developed to control the clamping, bending and cutting functions. From then on, bending machines almost controlled themselves.

: the Swiss firm of Jorns starts producing bending machines
When the master mechanic Kurt Jorns took over the firm of Konrad in Lotzwil, Switzerland, the individual stands of the bending machines were still bolted to the ground on the customers&#; premises. This proved a challenge in terms of the statics depending on the substrate, and one that could result in inaccuracies during bending. Kurt Jorns recognised this problem and developed one of the first machine frames for the bending machine &#; a novelty in the industry. In , Jorns were able to present the first NC-controlled bending machines: the 78 and 77 series. Not long after, these were followed by the first bending machines with a motorised back stop and electric shears.

The history of the bending machine in the digital age
The digital age began with numerical controls (NC) for all machine tools. These were joined by thumb wheel switches for bending machines in the s. Thanks to these, exact values could be pre-set and run for the clamping, bending, cutting and back stop systems. A program was limited by the number of rows of thumb wheel switches.

The first bending machines with CNC and monitor control systems were built at the beginning of the s. Measuring systems also became more and more precise and speeds higher. The first tapered back stop systems came onto the market. These were joined at the end of the s by graphic control systems, followed by touch screens that could be operated directly with a finger. Fully-automated, double bending machines celebrated their première at the turn of the millennium.

And where are bending machines heading in the future?
&#;The bending machine has a long history. and it will remain relevant for mankind in future too, because nowhere near everyone on the planet has a roof over their heads,&#; says Marc Jorns, metal bending expert and CEO of Jorns AG. And how will things develop technically? &#;Bending machines will become even more precise and faster in future. The bending process will be further automated and what&#;s more, it will be interconnected even better with higher-order software components. Preventive maintenance will also make things a lot easier, especially in larger production facilities that work in multiple shifts. Smaller companies will also profit from these developments.&#;

So you see, the history of bending machines, which began thousands of years ago with sheet metal processing, continues. Because bending machines are urgently needed to make roof and wall sections for protected rooms &#; now and in future.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website aluminum sheet bending machine.

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Sources

Gerd Ising, Die Schwenkbiegemaschine, Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt

Otto Lueger, Lexikon der gesamten Technik und ihrer Hilfswissenschaften, DVA, Stuttgart,

Wikipedia, Biegemaschine, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/... und Schwenkbiegen, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Bending machine introduction

Bending is a process of folding and bending flat panels. It follows the cutting process in the entire processing chain. The workpiece is placed on a die with a V-shaped opening. The wedge cutter (upper knife) presses the workpiece into the V-shaped opening and in this way bends the sheet to the required angle.

The main cutting edge of a Bending Machine is a cylindrical surface, and the cutting edge on the end surface is a secondary cutting edge. A bending machine without a center edge cannot feed along the axial direction of the milling cutter when it is working. According to national standards: the diameter of the bending machine is 2-50 mm, and it can be divided into two types: coarse teeth and fine teeth. Diameter 2-20 is the range of straight shank, diameter 14-50 is the range of taper shank.

The standard bending machine has two kinds of coarse teeth and fine teeth. The number of teeth of the coarse-tooth bending machine is 3~4, and the helix angle β is larger. The number of teeth of the fine-tooth bending machine is 5-8, and the helix angle β is smaller. At the same time, pay attention to three types in the bending machine processing: 1. Clamping, most of the bending machines used in the machining center adopt the spring clamp set clamping method, which is in the cantilever state during use. 2. Vibration, due to the small gap between the bending machine and the tool holder, the tool may vibrate during the machining process. 3. End edge cutting. In the numerical control milling of the cavity of a workpiece such as a mold, when the cut point is a concave part or a deep cavity, the extension of the bending machine needs to be lengthened. Finally, the choice of cutting speed mainly depends on the material of the workpiece to be processed, and the choice of feed speed mainly depends on the material of the workpiece to be processed and the diameter of the bending machine.
Three-point bending
When performing hollow bending, the upper knife presses the workpiece into the opening of the die, but it does not press to the bottom of the die. The workpiece rests only on the two edges of the die during the entire bending process. The bending angle is determined by the depth of the upper knife into the die. Hollow bending can achieve different bending angles without changing the mold.

Bending machines are currently widely used in various departments such as automobile manufacturing, electronics, molds, and machinery. The current major equipment providers include Salvagnini, Bystronic, Amada, Trumpf, etc. international well-known brand.

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