Automating bending operations improves press brake performance

Trends such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) are forcing manufacturing facilities to seek new opportunities to increase profitability and productivity. When new technologies appear on the shop floor, difficulties can arise in the process — especially regarding bending. In such cases, it is often thought that the solution lies in purchasing additional bending machines. The current labor market situation shows that finding experienced operators is usually difficult. Industry is striving to improve the performance of existing bending machines, rather than simply increasing their quantity.

Manufacturers considering the integration of automation into the bending process are looking for ways to maintain quality while changing batch sizes, enable 24/7 unmanned operation, and increase productivity and competitiveness. Factors influencing this include labor costs, declining skill levels on the shop floor, difficulty in finding press brake operators, and the need for improved throughput. It is necessary to reduce direct costs for part production and accelerate order processing.

Buying a new press brake can help speed up production. Investing in new equipment is always good, but it is essential to ensure the production facility extracts maximum benefit from it. When a machine stands idle — whether due to a lack of labor or the inability to produce existing orders — the enterprise gains no benefit from its presence. Therefore, automation is increasingly required to improve production. Let's look at several automation trends encountered today.

Speaking of press brakes, let's mention two types of automation. Most often, a standard work cell is envisioned, consisting of a press, a positioning table, stacking devices, and sorting bins. This traditional method works well for manufacturers working with large batches of identical parts with minor size variations. This is "hard automation," or automation by mechanical means.

Hard Automation

Typically, customers choosing hard automation perform bending on a large volume of parts. They want to produce these parts more efficiently. However, when many different orders for parts of various sizes arrive at the shop, work cells can be difficult and expensive to reconfigure. Some parts are simply not suitable for robot handling, being too small or too large for the robot installed in the shop. If the part doesn't fit the gripper, the gripper must be changed. And if it's too heavy, a new robot must be purchased.

Hard automation is ideal when you have enough parts that fit your automatic devices; the operator simply turns the system on and it keeps working. It is not suitable for producing large quantities of different orders, as reconfiguration is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, another option exists today — flexible automation, or automation using quick-changeover devices.

Flexible Automation

One advantage of a flexible automation system is that it allows the shop to remain responsive to changes. Some of the latest systems allow press brakes to be used in both manual and automated modes, providing maximum flexibility regardless of the task type.

The mobile bending cell is a portable device. For automation, it connects to the press brake, making it automatic. When you want to work in manual mode, you disconnect it, leaving you with a standard bending machine . It is essentially automation on wheels that can be moved.

The advantage of a portable solution is a high machine utilization rate. Today, everyone wants to get the most for their money. When shops buy a machine, they want it to work continuously.

A manual machine may stand idle because there is no operator. An automated one sometimes stands idle when there are no parts suitable for mechanical automation. With such a system in the shop, both problems are solved through connectivity. When automating bending operations, the shop has many opportunities to eliminate "bottlenecks." Each facility's unique needs can be met through automated accessories that increase operational flexibility.

The addition of automatic devices to electric press brakes is driven by the increasing complexity of manufactured products. More complex parts may require different processing techniques or tools, different gripper structures or robots, multiple gripping stations, and new re-gripping methods.

Flexibility for the operator lies in being able to use their hands, remove parts, move them, and check if they fit together. Robots cannot always rotate a part in any direction or finish it. Today's manufacturers already account for this, developing additional accessories for their systems to better meet bending needs. For example, this could be a set of grippers with different fingers and suction cups. When the product changes, it remains robot-friendly — you simply change the gripper.

Process Control

Implementing automatic devices in bending operations not only improves product quality and eliminates "bottlenecks," but can also help speed up work. Some manufacturers have been integrating robots and automation into their processes for thirty years. There are various flexible robotic cells where the robot is directly built into the machine and works as a single system. The robot arm moves horizontally along a six-meter beam at the top of the press. Thanks to automation, the space in front of the machine remains free for sheet metal tables and finished products.

These manufacturers have also noted trends forcing them to go beyond standalone systems and integrate automation directly into the production process. This includes not just the bending cell, but other process stages: punching, spot welding, and general sheet metal movement around the bending cell.

Another method for accelerating workflows is the ability to program bending offline. Many emphasize the importance of using separate software solutions that allow the shop to focus exclusively on bending.

Most manufacturers' press brakes come with software packages for creating programs for the machine and backgauges. However, programming robotic automation that manipulates workpieces, detects stuck sheets, finds bend lines, handles re-gripping, and places parts on pallets is often impractical, cumbersome, and expensive.

This is a common problem, and as bending automation becomes more frequent, manufacturers are creating solutions for it. 3D offline programming provides the ability to reliably control the process. The design module includes simulation and press brake control — managed, for example, from the engineering department. Machine downtime is reduced, and productivity grows.

CAM technologies are evolving and accelerating the processes between model creation and the final product. The connection between the CAM process, the robot program, and the bending itself is improving.

IMA Information:

Italian Machinery Association is a dealer for the Radan CAD/CAM software solution for sheet metal processing. It includes Radbend, the market-leading offline programming module for bending.

• If you are interested in other materials on bending, we suggest the following articles:

How to successfully work on an old press brake and set it up

Automation to improve bending process performance

4 tips for improving press brake performance

• If it's time to expand or upgrade your production facilities, you can always contact IMA to purchase a new press brake from a reliable Italian manufacturer. The range of press brakes from association members in our catalog can satisfy the needs of any manufacturer — from small subcontractors or individual producers to large-scale automated plants.
• In some cases, the productivity of existing machines can significantly increase if they are equipped with new high-quality tooling in one of the popular styles. Check out the bending tool offers from the Italian Machinery Association.
• Do you need repair, installation, restart services, or operator training for your equipment? The IMA service department has the extensive experience and knowledge to solve any problem.
• Have other questions or needs? Contact us immediately by phone or email, or visit any of our representative offices.