Homemade sheet bender is assembled from simple parts that any locksmith can carve. With the necessary parts, it will take only half a day to make your own manual bending machine. Most of the elements of the bending fixture are made from metal waste. Metal bending devices are in no way inferior to factory ones, but cost almost nothing. Based on the presented drawings, it is possible to make a more powerful analogue that qualitatively performs bending of steel up to 3 mm thick.

Design description

This model of a metal bending device easily copes with tin, the bends are obtained quite accurately. Painted metal can also be bent.

The base of the machine is welded from channel No. 6 or No. 8. Depending on the length of the future apparatus, the length of the channel is selected. For small work, 50 cm is enough. To bend the iron at an angle exceeding 90 degrees, a clamp is made from the corner. Such bending angles are used in the manufacture of folds.

The clamp is welded: the basis of the design is the corner 50 x 50, reinforced 35 x 35. The thickness of the corner shelves must be at least 5 mm, otherwise the clamp will be too weak. A clamp of such power will cope even with a length of a manual bending device up to 150 cm. The sheet is bent up to 135 degrees, this is enough to form folds. The length of the clamp should be 7 cm less than the base. Fasteners-brackets from a 3 x 3 corner are welded onto the ends. If the bracket is made from a corner bigger size, the length of the clamp is reduced by another 2 - 3 cm. With such dimensions, the spring is freely placed below.

The edges of the clamp are set clearly parallel to the frame, without burrs. Therefore, they are cleaned with a cutter or file, it is convenient to clean the edges with an angle grinder. The cleaning wheel removes protruding burrs and defects.

An opening with a diameter of 0.8 cm is sawn through the center of both brackets. The crimping punch is made from corner No. 5, the length of which is 5–8 millimeters less than the length of the clamp. The handle for the punch is made of a 14 mm metal bar, bent in the form of a bracket, and fixed to the punch. Cheeks are cut out of metal 0.5 cm, sawn through one hole with a diameter of 1 cm in each.

You can further strengthen the knot by cutting a 6 x 7 mm shelf around the edges and a 14 mm hole. Take the rod for the handle a little thinner - 12 mm.

Chamfers 30 x 5 are cut from the edges of the punch at the ends, to which the axes from a 10 mm metal rod will be fixed. The axis of the rod must coincide in direction with the edge of the corner. Near the ends, a 32 x 6 chamfer is made on the lower edge.

Pre-installation

Before you finally weld the structure, you must set all the details in the right direction and check the performance of the structure. Therefore, light temporary fasteners are made first. The frame together with the punch is fixed in a vice. The moving part and the frame must form a common horizontal. The cheeks are mounted on the axis and pointwise mounted on the bed. It is convenient to use clamps instead of welding. As soon as the temporary fasteners are ready, the clamps are removed and mobility is checked. If the amplitude of the punch is sufficient, the clamps are tightened and finally boiled.

It is advisable to remove the structure from the vice after the welding has completely cooled down, otherwise it may lead.

Device testing and final fine-tuning

Check the operation of the bending machine on thin pliable metal. The material for bending is installed in the device, the clamp is tightened with clamps. It is necessary to check the correct placement of the cheeks in relation to the bed. To do this, perform several bends and correct if necessary. If the cheeks are installed correctly, they are finally welded to the bed.

Using holes in the clamping brackets, holes are made in the base with a diameter of 8 mm with an M10 thread. The holes already prepared in the clamp are increased to a diameter of 1 cm. Bolts are screwed into the holes in the base (threaded) from the bottom up, the caps are welded.

The clamp is attached to the frame with nuts with obligatory washers. It is more convenient to operate the nuts in the form of handwheels (plumbing). In order to press the clamp during unscrewing, springs or rubber shock absorbers are installed on the bolts. Valve springs work well.

As a result of simple operations, an inexpensive, easy-to-operate and reliable machine is obtained. It also has a few small downsides:

• the fastening of the cheeks and the punch is not well thought out. In this node, during operation, the metal interacts with the metal and gradually frays. After a while, the mechanism begins to play. The sheet of metal is not bent clearly enough.

The method of correcting the disadvantage of a manual bending mechanism: the use of bearings in this assembly.

If you plan to bend a large amount of sheet metal, the drawings of the upper clamp will have to be slightly modified; on the presented work, the work is performed quite slowly.

In the original version, the sheet bender easily makes metal boxes 2 mm thick, forms folds, and copes with painted sheets.

You can make a bending machine with your own hands, without using any drawings, from scrap metal. There are specimens up to 2.5 m long, which perform up to 350 m of ferrous metal bending per day. Professional tinsmiths often prefer a homemade factory-designed bender.

More complex, manual roller benders can also be made independently according to the drawing. It is important here that the weight of the device is not too large, because it is controlled with one hand. Roller structures have one drawback - during rolling, small sections of sheet metal can be deformed. A bend is formed by stretching the surface. Therefore, most tinsmiths prefer not to work with them.

A few more models of manual bending machines with a detailed description of the nodes in the videos:

A sheet bender should be in the arsenal of every craftsman, it is especially necessary for those who are engaged in cold forging. After all, when performing this work, it is often necessary to bend the parts of a metal blank. Such a device has high reliability, besides it is easy to operate. However, professional equipment is expensive, so many people prefer to make a bending machine with their own hands.

Purpose and features of the sheet bender

Unfortunately, it is impossible to create high-quality metal elements without the use of special tools. To increase productivity and facilitate manual labor, new devices are constantly being produced. These include the sheet bender, which is rolling machine. It is used for bending metals such as steel, brass and aluminum. On this machine, the sheets are bent at a certain angle, without violating their flatness.

You should not buy an expensive device if you are going to open a small production or work on suburban area. For such purposes, it is better to create a homemade sheet bender.

On a do-it-yourself machine, it will be possible to process sheet metal up to 2 mm thick. Most often, such manual equipment consists of the following parts:

• clamp;
• grounds;
• crimping punch with a lever.

Factory bending machines have additional features. The most popular function is the cutting of metal sheets. The roller knife of such equipment is made of high-alloy steel alloy, treated with a special varnish. The cutter has a long service life, but the knife will have to periodically undermine.

Varieties of sheet benders

Before you start making a manual machine for bending metal products, you must first decide what exactly it is for. It is from the purpose of this device that it will depend on what type of equipment to do. The simplest is a do-it-yourself device in which a special traverse bends a metal sheet. With the help of this equipment, it will be possible to easily bend steel products, using only hand strength, of course, if they are width no more than 50 cm.

The base of the sheet is fixed in a vice or clamps, while bending is carried out by pressure exerted by the traverse. Sometimes, to achieve a 90 degree bend angle, a nested spacer is used. It is an ordinary strip of metal that compensates for the elasticity of the sheet.

A press brake is a more complex piece of equipment. The workpiece in it is placed on the matrix, and a punch is lowered on top of it, giving the necessary profile. However, for home use such a device is not suitable because it is unsafe and difficult to use.

The most suitable is considered to be a sheet bender, in which bending of sheet metal is performed multiple shafts. This machine is called a pass-through machine. Its main advantage is adjustable rollers that allow you to get different bending radii. Such a bending device is divided into two types: with electric or manual drive.

Rollers can also be different. For example, tools with a smooth working surface are used to make sections of pipes with a huge diameter or perform tin work that involves bending metal.

Profiled rollers are designed for bending roofing products: flanging, drain, ridge, valley and others. But a broaching bending machine is often equipped with a clamp, additional support, as well as a traverse in order to use it for manual bending of metal. These machines are also equipped with shafts of different profiles. And you can buy them yourself and improve the device.

Drawings for the creation of bending machines

Swivel frame bending tool

Such a do-it-yourself device is most often used by home craftsmen to bend sheet products. Moreover, it differs from other sheet benders in its great versatility. The desktop in it is created from metal or wood. The dimensions of such a bending machine are not less than 2x1 m. If you need to bend large workpieces, you can install a plane on the back of the device, placed at the level of the table, or a folding frame. This is done to fasten the metal so that it does not slip out when changing position.

The base should be screwed in front of the desktop. To do this, you need a channel with a width of the upper edge of not more than 7 cm. Guide studs with springs are mounted to its ends. A clamp is then fixed on them, the front edge of which should be beveled at an angle of 45 degrees.

To create a turning part, a corner is used, size 5x5 cm, with handle installed. Mount it on hinges in such a way that the upper edge of the material in the folded state is flush with the base.

The simplicity of the design of such a bending machine and the availability of materials for its assembly allows you to save a lot. In many cases, metal for the desktop and frame does not even need to be purchased, because in every workshop there are cut pipes, corners and channel bars. These leftovers will make an excellent home-made machine for bending metal sheets.

Drawing device from Taurus

To make such a sheet bender, you will need the following materials:

• Smooth surface, metal is better;
• Corners at least 3 pieces with a shelf width of about 45 mm and a thickness of about 3 mm.

If you are going to bend sheets that are too long, then choose thicker metal and wider shelves. Tauris are also suitable, however, they are used mainly for bending very thick and long workpieces. In addition, you will have to spend money on a spring, two screws with a diameter of at least 10-20 mm and several metal door hinges. In addition, for work you will need a drill with a drill for metal or welding machine.

A homemade bending machine is made from a brand. You will need three pieces of such a product, 2.5 meters each, a small metal plate 5 mm thick for jibs, two 20 mm bolts, and a spring. First you need to fold two brands, and then make holes for the loops at both ends. In this case, the edges of the pits are beveled at an angle of 45 degrees. The remaining product is cut in the same way, only the recess is made deeper to be used as a clamping bar.

Then you can proceed to welding the loops. This must be done with an external and inside. Then jibs are fixed to one brand. After that, a clamping bar is mounted, and metal plates with a recess in the center are welded to it from above. The diameter of such a hole should be slightly wider than the bolt. The hole should be aligned so that it is located with the installed nut on the same plane, and welded.

Next step - spring cutting, it should raise the clamping bar by as much as 7 mm. The bolt must be passed into the hole of this product, install the spring and screw the nut. When the same elastic part is mounted on the other side, when unscrewing, the bar will rise by itself.

To make a device for twisting, it is necessary to attach pieces of reinforcement to the screw head. After that, it remains only to weld the handle to the movable brand and you can get to work. Such a machine will be quite powerful, it will be possible to bend even thick and long sheets.

Do-it-yourself roll bending machine

When creating and installing chimneys, ventilation ducts and drainage systems, one cannot do without curvilinear bending of a metal sheet. They do a great job with this kind of work. roll sheet benders.

It is quite easy to build equipment with your own hands with three rollers. In addition, it can be equipped with an electric motor or a manual drive. The main parts of the roll bending machine are as follows:

One vertical post in the machine must rotate around the axis 90-120 degrees. This must be done in order to subsequently replace the rollers with cylinders of a different size. During the manufacture of a roller-type device, it should be understood that its capabilities will be limited by human strength. On such home-made equipment, it is allowed to bend sheet metal up to 60 cm wide and not more than 1.5 mm thick. The chute diameter can be adjusted by moving the rolls.

Rules for working on a homemade sheet bender

This machine is quite traumatic, therefore, when bending an iron sheet, safety precautions must be observed. Before you start working on purchased equipment, you first need to read the instructions and find out what material the device is designed to process.

Before using a DIY bending machine, you should check condition of work equipment. There should not be any hanging parts on overalls, and zippers, shirt cuffs and buttons must be fastened.

Then you need to move on to checking the condition of the working nodes, as well as their fastening. If faults are found, they must be corrected. Around the bender, it is required to leave a free space of at least 1 meter. The passage to the machine must not be blocked by anything. It is also important to check the sufficiency of lighting in the workplace.

The blanks are placed in advance near the sheet bender. On this equipment, it is forbidden to bend iron sheets, the thickness of which is several times greater than the allowable values. Do not leave the switched on device unattended.

It does not take much time and effort to create a practical and convenient manual bending machine. But it will become an indispensable tool for the home master.

A fully functional do-it-yourself bending machine for a sheet up to 1.2 mm thick can be made in a home workshop or workshop.

A variety of products made of tin and metal sheet, obtained by bending, are popular and in demand both in professional construction and mechanical engineering, and for minor household repairs and household needs. A fully functional do-it-yourself bending machine for a sheet up to 1.2 mm thick made of black, galvanized or non-ferrous metal can be made in a home workshop or a small metalworking workshop.

The sheet metal bending machine is simple in design and high in productivity. Manual industrial plants are quite expensive. We will not dwell on industrial hydraulic or pneumatic presses, as well as machines with a rotary beam - they are not needed for small-scale production. But a manual analogue of any industrial model is quite easy to make.

Building a sheet metal bending machine with your own hands will take from one to two days of working time, and another day to select and search for material. Drawings of home-made machines can be found on the Internet, but, which is even more convenient and practical, it is better to use it as a model for building one of the industrial models. Having figured out how they work, you can make your working drawings and develop technological scheme how to make a bending machine with your own hands, based on your own capabilities.

To make a simple sheet bender with your own hands, you do not need special engineering or design knowledge and skills - just average locksmith skills and experience with electric welding are enough. When building a roller bender, it will still be necessary to perform several operations on a lathe, but this issue can be resolved in any workshop or metalworking workshop.

Sheet benders of industrial production:

Types of sheet benders

For various works with a metal sheet, various types of sheet benders are used:

• with swivel beam;
• roller;
• roller;
• mechanical and hydraulic presses.

They differ in their technical capabilities and scope. All varieties can be made both in mobile or manual, and in stationary versions.

• Pipe benders with a rotary beam are the most common and convenient for self-production. They can work with large sheets, bending both edges a few centimeters high and a wall 30–70 cm at an angle of up to 120 0 . It is also easy to bend to create a seam connection.
• The manual roller bender is used for bending edges and low walls in body repair, roofing, window sill installation and joining large sheets of tin. Having chosen the profile of the roller, it is possible to perform a rather complex profiled bend, forming, for example, a wing or a fragment of a car bumper or a decorative element for finishing a fence or a balcony railing.
• The roller pipe bender is used for bending semicircular gutters or full section pipes. It can be adjusted along the radius by moving the rolls: the support rolls - horizontally, and the pressure rolls - vertically. It is easy to equip such a home-made roll bender with an electric drive with a chain or gear transmission.
• Presses will be needed for bending both thin, up to 1 mm, and thick, up to 2-3 mm metal. They are able not only to bend metal at an angle of up to 90 0, but also to perforate it or glue it under pressure. To change the type of operations, you only need to change the punch and matrix.

How they work is shown in the figure:

All types of machines are not complex, it is only important to decide on the upcoming tasks and choose a plant model that will help solve maximum metalworking tasks. For example, in the manufacture of boxes or roofing, a roller machine will not help much, and when installing drainage systems, it will become indispensable, while a rotary machine can only partially help.

Homemade machine with a swivel frame

Such a machine for bending sheet metal is very versatile and is used most often. Its design is clearly visible in the diagram:

The base desktop is made of wood or metal. Its dimensions should be at least 2x1 m. If it is necessary to work with large sheets of metal, a folding frame or plane can be provided on the back side, which is installed flush with the table. This is necessary to fix the sheet and prevent it from slipping out from under the clamp at the moment of changing the position.

A base is screwed to the front of the table - a channel with a width of the upper edge up to 7 cm. Holes are made at both ends for installing guide pins with springs. Clamp 5 is attached to the studs with a beveled angle of 45 - 50 about the front edge. You can use a corner 5x5 cm or larger, installed with an edge up.

The rotary part - a corner 7 (5X5) cm with a welded handle is mounted on hinges 6 so that in the tilted state the upper edge of the corner is on the same plane with the base. How to make an improved type of bending machine, which is characterized by increased productivity and design versatility, is shown in the video.

Its simplicity of design and the availability of materials for manufacturing allows minimizing construction costs. In most cases, you don’t even have to buy metal for the frame and the working part - in each workshop there are enough cuts of the channel, angle and pipe so that you can make a home-made metal bending machine out of them.

Roller plate benders

The manual version of the roller sheet bender is used to perform work on the formation of edges or profiling of parts, the stationary version is used for bending a large sheet at an angle of up to 90 0. How to make a manual roller bender, which will be useful for working in a garage, in a workshop or at a construction site, the video will tell in detail.

The device of a manual roller bender can be seen in detail in the photo:

As rollers, you can use any rolling bearings with a smooth outer cut of the cage, for example, 203 or 205. The shafts will need to be machined from steel round timber, and the screw-type clamping mechanism should be made from a conventional bolt with a diameter of 10 - 12 mm. When pulling tightly compressed rollers along the sheet, with simultaneous vertical force, the side of the desired height is bent in the right direction at a given angle. You can adjust the height of the side by moving the rollers with axes in relation to the stop.

A home-made sheet bender based on a sample can be made with certain skills in turning, or you can order shafts and fixation mechanisms from professional turners. In any case, such a tool will cost less than bought in a store. This is quite easy to verify by looking at the price of roller bending devices on any site.

Roll benders

The manufacture and installation of ventilation ducts, chimneys, drainage systems is impossible without curvilinear bending of the steel sheet. Roller sheet benders do an excellent job with this task. A homemade bending machine with three rollers is quite simple to build. How such a system works is shown on the example of an industrial machine with an electric drive.

But to make the same with a manual drive, or equipped with an electric motor, will not be difficult.

Main components:

• Vertical racks from a channel with holes for axles on bearings;
• Three longitudinal shafts. Pipes of various diameters with welded ends can be used. It is advisable to take thick-walled pipes in order to avoid deformation;
• Gear or chain drive. It must ensure the rotation of the rolls in one direction at the same speed;
• Clamping unit for upper roll control;
• Clamps for moving the backup rolls horizontally.

One of the uprights should rotate 90 - 120 0 around vertical axis. This is done so that the rollers can be replaced with cylinders of a different diameter.

The schematic diagram of the roller sheet bender is shown below:

The assembled machine looks like this:

When building a home-made roller-type bending machine, it should be taken into account that its maximum capabilities are limited by human muscular strength. On average, the machine can bend an iron sheet up to 1.5 mm thick and up to 600 mm wide. If the sheet has a thickness of up to 0.8 mm, then with a properly selected mechanical transmission of force, the width of the workpiece can be increased to 800 mm. The diameter of the pipe (gutter) is controlled by the movement of the rolls and their diameter.

Sheet metal bending presses

A do-it-yourself sheet bender for a thick sheet can be made using a car jack or a large diameter screw. For the base (matrix) and punch (pressure beam), you will need two pieces of a corner 5x5 or 7x7 cm up to 1 m long, a channel for the base and side vertical guides, several adjusting screws and return springs.

How the hydraulic bending machine works can be seen in detail in a small video and make sure that there is no limit to amateur technical creativity.

All the described designs of sheet benders are not given as a sample, but as an incentive for the independent development of their own options for sheet bending equipment.

Perhaps you will be able to create your own original design or improve existing ones. Write to us on the site - we are always happy to popularize the achievements of our readers.

Most often, to work with metal blanks, a person needs a metal bending machine. This is a fairly simple device, but its usefulness cannot be overestimated. In addition, it is quite possible to make it yourself. This will save a significant amount of material resources, but it will also require certain knowledge, skills and, of course, time.

Description

The machine for, as its name implies, is used for the production of bent metal parts. It is worth adding that, in addition to this function, it can also have one additional one - material cutting. Such machines are most often used to produce strips of metal. In addition to these two functions, the presence of such a machine will allow the production of various kinds of profiled metal. The advantage of using a metal bending machine is that it allows you to change the shape of the material at any required angle, but at the same time it does not harm the surface coating or the protective layer of the product.

Work on the unit

You can work on such a machine not only with steel products, but also with copper, brass, aluminum and iron. If a blank made of any material is characterized by the fact that its thickness is less than 0.8 mm, then its width must necessarily be not less than 40 cm, but not more than 2.5 m. With such dimensions, the height of the shelf (for bending) must be no more than 2 cm. If you want to cut blanks with the same thickness, then it is important that their width is from 80 mm to 40 cm and no more.

Another important condition that must be observed in order to work on a metal bending machine is the absence of defects on the surface of the sheet that will be bent. Compliance with this condition is important so that those parts and samples of products that will be produced on the basis of quality are not inferior to those blanks that are produced on an industrial scale in factories. In order to protect the polymer or paint coating on the material itself, it is recommended to install silicone or rubber pads on the machine.

The design of the machine for bending sheet metal, made by hand

A homemade machine for bending metal products has a rather simple, but very functional design, consisting of several basic elements.

Knife. Since the machine has an additional cutting function, this part is also the main one. It should be installed on movable rollers, and is intended for cutting workpieces. It is important to note here that this element must be made of very strong steel, on the Rockwell scale, the strength level should be about 100. The service life of such a product is quite long, but it will be difficult to sharpen. But this disadvantage is completely offset by the fact that the knife will allow you to cut great amount running meters of material before it becomes dull. To make it easier to move the rollers, a weighting agent must be installed on them.

Components of the machine

A do-it-yourself metal bending machine must also have several of the following constituent elements:

• The necessary detail is a working beam (table). The purpose of this element is quite clear, it plays the role of a working surface on which the workpiece lies. The width of the beam can be almost any. It is worth noting that if the dimensions are quite large, then the machine for bending metal with your own hands can be turned into a full-fledged workbench. Masters recommend making or covering the surface of the beam with rubber or silicone so as not to scratch the surface of the workpieces.
• Next comes the sheet bender itself. The design is quite simple and should be made in the form of a frame made of wood material, and also have a weighting agent.
• It is necessary to acquire various supports and stops that will prevent the material from sliding.
• Another important element is the sheet fold stops. These details will adjust the fold width of the sheet and set the fold angle.
• In order to cut blanks, it is recommended to add stops to indicate the width of the cut.

The beginning of the manufacture of a homemade metal bending machine

It is recommended to start work by drawing up a diagram of the unit. It is also necessary to purchase and manufacture all the necessary elements and parts before proceeding with the assembly. The first thing you need to buy is two pieces of channel No. 5 and No. 6 with the same length. Also, these two elements must have a straight edge. These elements are used to prepare the base. Piece No. 5 is used for clamping, and No. 6 for arranging the base. To select the length of the channels, it is necessary to build on the length of the workpieces with which you plan to work, this parameter must match. Most often, experts recommend taking a length of about half a meter. This is enough to make almost any part that can be useful in everyday life.

Production and assembly of the machine

Further, for the manufacture of a machine for manual bending of metal, it is necessary to make holes on the channel, which is clamping. The number of holes should be from 2 to 4, and their diameter should be equal to 9 mm. The hole closest to the end of the workpiece of the clamping part should be located 3 cm from the edge. Another important point in that the clamping device should be shorter than the base, by about 5-10 cm. A lever handle is best made from materials such as rebar or timber. If a beam is used, then its cross section must be no less than 15 mm, and if a beam is taken, then its dimensions must be at least 50x50. The shape of the lever is recommended to be U-shaped. This element is attached to the corner by welding or bolts.

Final works

After all the previous manipulations have been completed, you can begin to manufacture such an element as cheeks. They are made of rolled steel, and the thickness of the parts should be about 5 mm. It is important that these elements have chamfers, the thickness of which should be equal to 0.6 cm. The length of this section should be from 3 to 3.3 cm. It is important that the ends of the punch are also chamfered with parameters such as 0.5 cm deep and 3 cm long. They must be removed from the punch to allow the axle to be installed. The production of such an element as an axis is carried out from metal rods, whose diameter is 1 cm. The axis is fastened by welding. When installing, it is necessary to ensure that the axis line is parallel to the corner ribs. All this finished structure, together with the punch, is connected using a vice. When combining, it is important to ensure that the free shelf of the corners is located in the same horizontal plane in which the free channel shelf is located.

After that, the assembly work can be considered completed. To check the performance of the machine, it is recommended to take a blank of mild steel with a thickness of up to 1.5 mm. It is worth noting that the price of a purchased metal bending machine can reach up to $ 2000.

Sheet bending process

The design of a home-made machine may also consist of such parts as a bed, a flywheel nut, a bending sheet, a clamp, a pipe, a crimping punch. In order to work on this type of machine, certain knowledge and skills are required. The advantage of using this unit is that it will allow you to keep the metal intact, unlike the same welding.

In the process of bending the metal, the following happens: the outer layers of the metal blank are stretched, but the inner ones, on the contrary, are compressed. It is important that in order to bend a metal workpiece, it is necessary to apply such a force that will be greater than the ultimate elasticity of the material. With the help of metal bending machines, this condition can be achieved. The advantages of the finished product, that is, bent sheets, include the following factors:

• the presence of high strength of the final product;
• the possibility of obtaining a one-piece structure without welds, bolted joints, etc.;
• the possibility of corrosion is excluded, since there is no damage to the metal during the bending process;
• the ability to obtain the desired angle, without creating a weld.

Conclusion

The presence of such equipment at home greatly simplifies the work with metal blanks. However, when using this device, it is extremely important to know and adhere to safety precautions. The price of a do-it-yourself sheet metal bending machine will also be significantly lower than a purchased one. You will have to spend money only on those materials that are not at hand and will have to be bought.

Modern sheet benders are popular designs for performing cold bending of base sheet metals, if necessary, to facilitate the creation of various products. It is quite possible to make the simplest, but functional bending machine with your own hands with a small investment of time, effort and money.

What is a sheet bending machine

A sheet bender or sheet bending press is a device for cold bending of metal. The main purpose is the manufacture of products from sheet materials.

Due to the plasticity of the material, non-ferrous and ferrous metals, as well as many types of alloys, are easily subjected to mechanical stress. Bending machines allow you to bend metal products, give them a round, square or shaped shape. In this case, the outer layer of the product is stretched, and the inner one is compressed. Precise and even angles are a prerequisite for bending.

The main feature of metal bending is the absence of kinks, corrugation of the finished product and the appearance of other shortcomings.

Often sheet benders are used at the site of roofing work, in construction, in the manufacture of all kinds of profiled sheets. With the help of bending machines, stand products and signs are created. The equipment is used in aircraft building, mechanical engineering, instrument making, petrochemical and shipbuilding industries. Thus, a modern machine is simply indispensable for bending a variety of products based on sheet metals.

History of technical development

Back in the first half of the last century, the world industry produced mainly sheet bending machines of a mechanical type, which was explained by the low cost and ease of execution, as well as the reliability of operation of such devices. Nevertheless, mechanical presses had significant drawbacks, primarily related to their massiveness and the growth of basic requirements for enterprises.

Mechanical structures consumed a significant amount of electrical energy, were noisy and vibrated heavily.

The very first devices are characterized by the complexity of frequent readjustment and too high risk injuries, as well as poor quality of finished products

Sheet bending structures of pneumatic type are limited in operation due to the need to provide a supply line with compressed air. And mechanical models are impractical in industrial use due to the rather low quality characteristics of the finished product and low productivity. Therefore, development modern technologies easily allowed the development of hydraulic bending machines. Work on such machines contributed to the manufacture of products with high quality, and the press itself was distinguished by high reliability and low consumption of electrical energy.

Hydraulic machines are more convenient and safer than mechanical presses.

The appearance of new control systems in the design has supplemented the devices with a convenient graphical user interface with automatic calculations of the entire sequence of operations and program stages, protection by a complex laser control device. The most modern units are fully protected against overload pressure, have convenient electronic speed control, a control sensor and many other important improvements.

Types of sheet benders

Sheet benders can be stationary and mobile or mobile type, divided into press, rotary and rotary models. Such a device is equipped with a hydraulic, pneumatic or electromechanical drive, and is also available in a mechanical and manual version with automatic or manual feed of the workpiece and with different types CNC.

Simple manual

They function through the use of muscular strength and a “swivel beam”, due to which the metal is given the desired shape by the lever. A significant part of hand-held devices is represented by mobile devices that are operated directly at the places where metal products are manufactured.

The frame of manual machines is made of high quality steel, which ensures the reliability of the entire structure.

The advantages of a simple manual plate bending machine are the absence of noise in operation, low cost, lightness and mobility, as well as independence from the mains. The disadvantages include a small width and the possibility of using extremely thin sheet metal with a thickness of no more than 1.5–2.0 mm.

Pneumatic

The work is due to the presence of pneumatic cylinders in the design. Such press brakes are available in stationary and mobile models, but the most commonly used units are made in the form of a traditional "turning beam".

The machine allows you to produce serial parts of various geometries, including sheet metal with a paint and varnish coating

The advantages of a pneumatic sheet bender are represented by good automation of the process, as well as high versatility and the need for minimal operator intervention in the entire work process. In addition, pneumatics are quite affordable and easy to maintain. The most basic drawback of pneumatic type models is represented by the need to provide a sufficiently powerful and expensive compressor that creates noise during operation.

hydraulic

Mobile and stationary hydraulic bending machines operate due to the presence of a hydraulic drive in the design. Today, this type of equipment is considered one of the best and most modern.

Modern hydraulic sheet benders are used to obtain ideal products in terms of quality and accuracy.

The advantages of hydraulic type models are represented by fast operation, low noise level, high reliability and the ability to bend even thick metals. This type of device rarely needs maintenance. The disadvantages of operation are the problems of finding failed parts, the need for repairs in specialized workshops and the risk of oil leakage with significant wear.

Electromechanical

Stationary type of sheet bender, functioning due to the operation of an electric motor, drive system and gearbox. Electromechanical presses are quite deservedly very popular, which is explained by their affordable cost and relative ease of operation.

The electromechanical bending machine belongs to the heavy class equipment

The advantages of electromechanical equipment are represented by a relatively low price, good performance, wide functionality and availability of basic spare parts. When choosing, one should take into account such disadvantages of operation as the significant noise of the electric motor, chain or belt, and not too high reliability indicators, which is explained by the presence a large number parts and main components.

Mechanical

Stationary type mechanical sheet benders function as a result of the transfer of energy of a kinetic type from a flywheel previously untwisted to the required indicators.

Mechanical sheet benders can be used for installation work

Despite the low cost of production, ease of execution and fairly high reliability of operation, mechanical machines differ large mass, a high level of electrical energy consumption, noisy operation and a noticeable inconvenience of self-changeover.

Making a bending machine with your own hands

The easiest way is to make your own manual machine, which is easy to operate, but somewhat limited in functionality.

It is difficult to find a device drawing that would satisfy all requests, but the most successful template can be finalized.

• 1 - clamp;
• 2 - cheek;
• 3 - base;
• 4 - bracket;
• 5 - welded clamp;
• 6 - axis;
• 7 - punch corner.

It is necessary to minimize the number of machine elements that need to be ordered on the side, resorting to the help of revolvers or milling machines.

Working on this type of equipment requires a high skill of the operator, which is explained by increased risk production of defective products in the presence of even a slight distortion of the installed workpiece. All self-made manual models are simplified, but their main drawback is presented physical activity operator.

Preparation for work

An easy-to-make manual sheet bender can be quite powerful, designed to work with metal sheets of different thicknesses. Before proceeding with the manufacture of such a model, you need to prepare everything necessary materials, as well as a welding machine, a drill with a set of drills for metal and a grinder.

Basic materials for manufacturing:

• three standard corners having a shelf width of 45 mm or more with a metal thickness of 3 mm or more;
• Taurus 70 mm - for bending the thickest and longest sheet metal;
• two standard metal door hinges;
• a pair of screws with a diameter of 10–20 mm;
• "lambs" for screws;
• spring;
• metal 0.5 cm thick for jibing.

The workplace should be as smooth, durable and reliable as possible, free from dust and any contaminants. In extreme cases, it is allowed to manufacture a structure on the surface of the earth.

Step by step manufacturing process

There are several schematic diagrams and drawings of a home-made bending machine, but the most convenient in execution and practical to use is a bending machine based on Taurus.

This do-it-yourself version of making a bending machine is easy to perform, but it only allows you to work with fairly thin sheet metals.

1. The two tees are neatly and evenly folded, after which notches are cut at the two ends at a beveled angle of 45 ° for the loops. The third tee must be cut in the same way.
   

   

   In the third brand, the recess depth is made a little larger, which is necessary for the free movement of the clamping bar

2. Metal door hinges are securely welded without fail, not only from the front, but also from the wrong side.

   

   All welds must be made prior to final assembly to prevent changes in the geometric characteristics of the structure.

3. For each of the Taurus, a pair of jibs is welded on both sides.
   

   

   Such elements are necessary to install the clamping plate bolt retainer

4. A bolt nut is welded to the jibs.

   

   Welding seams reliably fasten machine elements to each other

5. A clamping bar is installed in the form of a third trimmed brand, after which metal plates are carefully welded on the upper part, having a hole in the central part. The diameter of such a hole should be slightly larger than the dimensions of the bolt.
   

   

   Welding is performed after centering and positioning strictly on the same vertical

6. The spring is installed in such a way that it can raise the clamping bar by about 0.5–0.7 cm. The bolt is passed into the “ear” on the clamping bar, after which the spring is put on and the nut is tightened.
   

   

   A similar fastening is carried out on the other side, which allows you to independently lift the clamping bar when unscrewing

7. A pair of reinforcing pieces are welded to the screw cap, used as convenient and reliable handles for tightening. It is quite possible to install the spring on the screw, which will greatly facilitate the process of lifting the bar.
   

   

   This design of the finished device allows you to make a fairly high-quality flanging

8. The corners are not arranged in shelves in relation to each other, but have a one-sided direction, which makes fixing the loop not very convenient, but quite feasible.
   

   

   On the bend of the fixed angle, small stop plates are welded on both sides for the location of the clamping bar with a welded screw nut

9. The clamping bar from the angle is laid with a bend upwards on the machine, and the reinforcement welded from ordinary metal jumpers prevents the element from bending. At the two ends of the strip, not too small metal pads with holes drilled for bolts are welded.

   

   The edge facing the bend must be cut off, which will allow you to get the most acute bend angle

10. The clamping bar is installed on the machine, after which the spring is placed and the handles are installed.

At the final stage, handles are mounted for ease of use.

A ready-made bending machine is a good home-made option for domestic use, which will easily bend galvanized and tin.

Safety

Standard safety precautions provide for the mandatory observance of the maintenance instructions for manual bending machines:

• setting the required bending angles on the limiter;
• control of the set data on the goniometer;
• checking the correct installation of the working tool;
• accurate laying on the frame part of the device of the element for bending;
• performing test bending and, if necessary, making adjustments;
• re-check the correct bending.

It is important to control the correctness of the course of all bending operations, as well as to check the technical condition of the device in a timely manner, to keep the bending machine clean and tidy.

Advantages and disadvantages of homemade and purchased models

When choosing, you need to pay attention to the technical capabilities and give preference to equipment that has a small margin for the main important characteristics. The most purchased machines in Russia are units manufactured by manufacturers from the USA, Poland, China and Germany.

Budget production machines include Chinese and Russian plate benders, and presses from the middle price category include models from the USA, Turkey and Poland. The most expensive and inaccessible to the average consumer is considered to be machines from manufacturers in Germany and France, as well as those manufactured by other Western European countries.

Table: comparison of bending machines from different manufacturers

Brand	Mobility / vandal resistance	Device repair cost	Metal thickness / service life of the working part (p.m.)	Cost thousand dollars
tapco	high / low	High	0,7 / 10000	From 2.0
Van Mark	high / low	High	1,0 / 10000	From 2.0
Jouanel	Low / high	High	1,0 / 10000	From 2.0
Mazanek	Low / high	High	1,0 / 10000	From 2.0
Schechtl	Low / high	High	1,0 / 10000	From 2.0
LGS-26	high / high	Low	0,7 / 10000	About 32.0

Despite a lot of advantages, including high performance, factory models have some disadvantages, represented by a rather high cost and expensive staff training, as well as relatively expensive maintenance. Any do-it-yourself benders are usually easy to operate and affordable to manufacture, but their performance leaves much to be desired.