Fish On
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2014
- Location
- Foley, Alabama
I'm finally at the point where I need to buy a press brake. I've been running a 6' x 12 gauge Dreis and Krump box/pan brake for the past 7 years. This was fine back when I was doing one-off oddball stuff, but now I'm getting into some short run production runs, sometimes on 4'+ pieces of .125" aluminum - my body isn't going to take too much more of that.
I've been trying to sub out as much bending as possible. A local job shop purchased a new 12' Accurpress a few years ago. There were some growing pains initially, as they got kinks worked out of the equipment, and operators changed, but it looked like it would work well. Unfortunately, I can't get the quality I need (and by that, I mean actually reading what's on the work order), and I'm at my final straw with them. I haven't found other suitable shops within a suitable driving distance.
I primarily work with .125 and .090" 5052 aluminum, lengths up to 6'. What I know I need is something in the 6' x 60 ton range. 1 man shop, so I cannot justify new costs for the amount of weekly use it'd get. I think I want to be in the 30k range, all in (machine, tooling, rigging and phase converter). Is this reasonable?
Toolingwise, I' really only need one set of tooling initially. 1" v die (I often do reverse bends, so no 4 way die blocks) and a set of gooseneck sectional punches. Basically, set up properly for the .125, and the extra radius is fine for .090. The die can be a single piece, but I do need sectional tooling for the punch (I do lots and lots of pans, in varying sizes). I'm familiar with 'new standard' (Wila) tooling. Seems like it's the cats meow for what I'd do, but probably not in the budget. What would be a suitable lower cost tooling with the understanding that it'll need to be constantly changed for differing pan sizes?
Phase converter. I've got 200 amps single phase. Pretty sure most of these brakes are going to be 7.5 or more likely 10 hp. Is a 20 hp rotary the best option? Phase-perfect (maybe not, based on Wheelieking) or other options? I never hear of swapping to a single phase motor, though I see them for sale in the 10 hp range. Is that not an option for some reason?
Are there any brands I should specifically look for or avoid? I'm probably not looking at Amada budget. I see lot of the Accurpress 7606s for sale. A couple Wysongs on Ebay.
Controls? I know absolutely nothing about the controls on these, and have precisely 0 experience with anything CNC. I know I need a decent ram stroke control, and a simple backgauge control (don't need all the fancy 5 axis stuff the higher end ones have). I'm aware that I'll get a fairly primitive control. Are there any specific controls to avoid? What question do I need to ask on this front that I'm not yet aware of?
I'm not needing real tight tolerances (no Trumphs or anything like that - just tape measure tolerances). I'm having no problems getting the accuracy I need on the hand brake - just need to cut a little time out, and lessen the risk of hurting myself.
I've been trying to sub out as much bending as possible. A local job shop purchased a new 12' Accurpress a few years ago. There were some growing pains initially, as they got kinks worked out of the equipment, and operators changed, but it looked like it would work well. Unfortunately, I can't get the quality I need (and by that, I mean actually reading what's on the work order), and I'm at my final straw with them. I haven't found other suitable shops within a suitable driving distance.
I primarily work with .125 and .090" 5052 aluminum, lengths up to 6'. What I know I need is something in the 6' x 60 ton range. 1 man shop, so I cannot justify new costs for the amount of weekly use it'd get. I think I want to be in the 30k range, all in (machine, tooling, rigging and phase converter). Is this reasonable?
Toolingwise, I' really only need one set of tooling initially. 1" v die (I often do reverse bends, so no 4 way die blocks) and a set of gooseneck sectional punches. Basically, set up properly for the .125, and the extra radius is fine for .090. The die can be a single piece, but I do need sectional tooling for the punch (I do lots and lots of pans, in varying sizes). I'm familiar with 'new standard' (Wila) tooling. Seems like it's the cats meow for what I'd do, but probably not in the budget. What would be a suitable lower cost tooling with the understanding that it'll need to be constantly changed for differing pan sizes?
Phase converter. I've got 200 amps single phase. Pretty sure most of these brakes are going to be 7.5 or more likely 10 hp. Is a 20 hp rotary the best option? Phase-perfect (maybe not, based on Wheelieking) or other options? I never hear of swapping to a single phase motor, though I see them for sale in the 10 hp range. Is that not an option for some reason?
Are there any brands I should specifically look for or avoid? I'm probably not looking at Amada budget. I see lot of the Accurpress 7606s for sale. A couple Wysongs on Ebay.
Controls? I know absolutely nothing about the controls on these, and have precisely 0 experience with anything CNC. I know I need a decent ram stroke control, and a simple backgauge control (don't need all the fancy 5 axis stuff the higher end ones have). I'm aware that I'll get a fairly primitive control. Are there any specific controls to avoid? What question do I need to ask on this front that I'm not yet aware of?
I'm not needing real tight tolerances (no Trumphs or anything like that - just tape measure tolerances). I'm having no problems getting the accuracy I need on the hand brake - just need to cut a little time out, and lessen the risk of hurting myself.