4 steps to better press brake management

If you suspect you aren’t getting the most out of your press brakes, make certain with these four actions

With the large increase in productivity fabricators have experienced with the advent of faster laser cutting systems, press brake operations have increasingly been considered a key bottleneck on production floors. Many shops are investing in newer press brakes that allow for faster setup times. If that isn’t yet an option for your shop, however, it’s still important to ensure your press brake is running at peak efficiency. Here are four ways in which you can make certain you are getting the most out of your existing system.

1. Measure your setup operations and average bending times

The most basic consideration is ensuring that you know precisely where the most setup time is being spent and how long your bending processes take.

“I recommend to people who say they spend 45 minutes setting up a press brake to figure out where that time is really spent,” said Mike Junker, LVD Strippit’s bending product sales manager. “Is the team searching for tools, programming at the brake itself, or doing test pieces? There are answers for each challenge along the way, so it’s important to understand where the shop’s real pain points are before choosing a solution.”

2. Apply 5S organization to the press brake

For those who use lean principles in their shop, adopting 5S practices (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) at the press brake is the lowest of low-hanging fruit.

“The more efficient shops might have pegboards right next to the control panel for all of their measuring tools like protractors and calipers so that they are all properly staged and they don’t have to go searching for them,” said Junker.

3. Organize your tool crib in a consistent manner

Shops usually group their tools in one of two ways: by material thickness or type of job. The experts recommend choosing one approach and sticking to it. They also recommend that each separate brake has its own set of tools.

“I see a lot of people who think sharing tools across a couple of brakes will be a savings for them, and it is a cost savings in the short term. Ultimately, though, I think it hurts them in the long term, unless they have special tools with special radii and lengths,” said Junker.

Scott Ottens, bending product manager for Amada America, said that stage setups for stage bending is a process that his company recommends as a best practice to speed up production and maintain quality part production.

“There are two advantages to this practice,” Ottens explained. “First, it reduces your handling of the part, which reduces the opportunities for operator error. Second, you get into quite a few parts for which the blank size might not be absolutely correct, which means you have to massage your tolerances for the corners to close up or for the part to be aesthetically pleasing. If you don’t pick up the part and bend it completely in a stage bending setup, you can’t really do that.”

Ottens noted that really good operators working with simple enough parts will come up with a setup they can bend multiple parts on, and most operators will lean that way.

“That method doesn’t always lend itself to correct scheduling, however,” he explained. “It is becoming more common for one or two experienced operators to prepare setups for all the machines in a shop. However, this isn’t necessarily a good idea because you might have operators standing around waiting for setups. This is why we are getting more customers who are prepared to invest in more advanced technology today; it simplifies setup so you don’t need a skilled operator.”

4. Program offline

One low-cost way of managing setup time is to invest in offline programming for all your brakes.

“Offline programming is the biggest low-cost improvement you can do,” said Ottens. “If you can do that you essentially make even a new job like a repeat job because all the information is there for the operator. Before offline programming we promoted using a logbook that would give the operator information on tool setup, side gauges, and other special considerations. With both methods, it’s a matter of making it so the operator can readily repeat each setup so it’s not like reinventing the wheel every time.”

Junker noted that even if your brake can’t receive that information remotely, you still can create a setup sheet from the data.

“You can select your tooling and essentially create an offline program you can then manually put in the brake that already spells out your tooling setup, flange lengths, and your bend allowance. That beats having to do all your calculations of your bend allowance and ram height on-the-fly,” said Junker.

Ottens recommended that if you can’t send the offline program information to your brake’s controls because the brake is not equipped for that, it is useful to put an extra computer monitor either on or beside the brake so that the operator can see the tool setup there and repeat it.

As Ottens explained it, ultimately it’s about doing what you can to give an operator precisely what he needs to set up the job properly.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@canadianfabweld.com.

Amada Canada Ltd., 905-676-9610, www.amada.ca

LVD Strippit, 716-542-4511, www.lvdgroup.com

About the Author
Canadian Fabricating & Welding

Rob Colman

Editor

1154 Warden Avenue

Toronto, M1R 0A1 Canada

905-235-0471

Robert Colman has worked as a writer and editor for more than 25 years, covering the needs of a variety of trades. He has been dedicated to the metalworking industry for the past 13 years, serving as editor for Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) and, since January 2016, the editor of Canadian Fabricating & Welding. He graduated with a B.A. degree from McGill University and a Master’s degree from UBC.