64 The FABRICATOR August 2013

By Steve Benson
S
electing the press brake and tooling for a
particular job involves much more than
just making sure theres enough brute force.
Make one miscalculation, and pieces of tooling
can y while, at the same time, you may exceed
the ram center load, causing the press brake ram
and bed to bend. If you dont believe this can hap-
pen, look at almost any high-mileage mechanical
press brake and count the number of shims be-
tween the die and the bed.
To avoid these problems, take a look at your ton-
nage and load limits.
How Much Tonnage
Does a Job Require?
Start by looking at a standard tonnage chart (see
Figure 1) that relates the workpiece thickness with
the width of the die opening. Where the two inter-
sect gives you the approximate tonnage per foot
required for the job, based on 60,000-PSI tensile
cold-rolled steel.
Tonnage charts can be inaccurate, though. So
to nd the tonnage a job requires quickly and ac-
curately every time, consider using the following
formula, which solves for tonnage per inch when
air forming 60,000-PSI-tensile AISI 1035 cold-rolled
steel over a given die width: Tonnage per inch =
{[(575 Material thickness
2
) / Die width] / 12}.
Multiply this value by the bend length, and youll
get the total tonnage required for the application.
Still, in any job shop, material types vary, and
each has its own tensile strength. Tensile strength
is dened as the ability of a material to bear weight
without breaking or being pulled apart under a
smooth load, not a sudden impact.
To incorporate diferent materials into the ton-
nage calculation, you include a material factor in
the tonnage formula. Here are some common ma-
terial factors:
AISI 1035 cold-rolled steel = 1
304 Stainless = 1.4 to 6
Aluminum 6061 T6 = 1.28
Aluminum 5052 H32 = 0.50
We use the 60,000-PSI-tensile AISI 1035 (the
most common type of cold-rolled steel used) as
a baseline and so give it a value of 1. To obtain a
factor for a specic material, you can perform a
simple comparison of tensile strengths, working
with 60,000-PSI tensile as the baseline. For example,
if youre working with a material with a specied
maximum tensile strength of 120,000 PSI, divide
that by 60,000 to get 2, which becomes your mate-
rial factor in the tonnage formula.
Considering all this, here is the tonnage calcula-
tion you can use to determine the amount of ton-
nage you need for a job:
Tonnage per inch = {[(575 Material thickness
2
)
/ Die width] / 12} Material factor
Total tonnage needed for the job = Tons per
inch Length of bend in inches
Tese formulas apply to air forming. If youre
bottoming or coining, you need to take this into
account. Bottoming and coining tonnage calcula-
Why tonnage
matters
Nevereverexceed
the load limits for your
tooling or press brake
Figure 1
Tonnage charts relate workpiece thicknesses with the width of the die opening. Note that tonnage charts can be inaccurate for the job at hand.
Thickness
of Metal
Width of Female Die Opening
Approximate pressure in tons per linear foot required to make a 90-degree air bend in mild steel (60,000 PSI tensile)
Gauge Dec.
1
4"
5
16"
3
8"
1
2"
5
8"
3
4"
7
8" 1" 1
1
8" 1
1
4" 1
1
2" 2" 2
1
2" 3" 3
1
2" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 10" 12"
20 0.036 2.6 2.2 1.6 1.2 1.0
18 0.048 3.5 2.8 2.1 1.7 1.3
16 0.060 5.3 3.7 2.8 2.2 1.7
14 0.075 5.5 4.6 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.1
13 0.090 6.4 5.5 4.3 3.6 3.2 2.8
12 0.105 9.2 6.9 6.2 5.0 4.3 3.9 3.1
11 0.120 10.1 8.0 7.0 6.1 5.3 4.3 2.9
10 0.135 10.3 8.7 7.8 6.9 5.7 3.9
9 0.150 11.9 9.8 8.8 7.0 5.0 3.7
7 0.188 16.9 13.9 11.2 8.3 6.7 4.9
1
4" 0.250 27.5 22.1 15.0 11.6 9.6 7.9 6.7
5
16" 0.312 39.2 26.5 19.3 15 12.5 10.4 7.7
3
8" 0.375 42.7 31.2 23.8 19.5 16.3 12.4 9.6
7
16" 0.437 45.5 35.2 28.5 24.4 17.4 15.0 11.5
1
2" 0.500 48.5 39.5 33.2 24.6 19.5 16.1 13.4
5
8" 0.625 65.5 57.9 42.8 33.1 27.3 23.3 17.0
3
4" 0.750 92.3 68.1 53.0 36.2 36.2 26.9 21.0
7
8" 0.875 103.1 79.9 52.3 52.3 39.2 31.2
1 1.00 112.1 90.4 75.5 55.7 43.7
DANGER ZONE
Aug13FAB_PressBrakes.indd 64 7/23/13 11:18 AM
August 2013 The FABRICATOR 65
tions are rough approximations at best, because
they can vary depending on the machine operator.
But these bending methods do increase required
tonnage substantially. If youre bottoming, you
need to multiply your calculated tonnage per inch
by at least a factor of 5; if youre coining, the factor
can be 10 or even more.
Also note that the maximum tonnage doesnt
happen all at once; it builds along a steep curve.
Under close observation, you will notice that 80
percent of the total tonnage is developed in the
rst 20 degrees of bend, so even a small bend angle
can produce enormous pressures on the tooling
and equipment.
Teres also more tonnage to consider than just
what it takes to bend the sheet. Workpiece size also
can afect tonnage requirements. When you are
working with a small part, this force is extremely
small. But for larger parts, the force can be signi-
cant. Supporting the materialbe it with a lot of
manpower, material lifters on the brake itself, or a
cranecan help mitigate this efect.
Whether you are using a tonnage chart or cal-
culating the tonnage requirements manually, you
need to know how to apply the information. Te
jobs tonnage requirements should not exceed the
tonnage capacity of the press brake or the tooling.
Press Brake Tonnage Capacity
Before continuing, we need to dene some terms,
the rst being deection. Deection is the tempo-
rary deformation of the press brakes ram and bed
that occurs naturally under a load (see Figure 2).
When the pressure is removed, so is the deection
present under load, and the ram and bed return to
their original positions. In other words, deection is
normal and to be expected.
Te second term is upset, which occurs when
you exceed the maximum deection of the press
brake ram. When this happens, the ram and bed
stay permanently deected (bent); once upset, the
press brake ram and the bed become difcult and
expensive to repair.
Most press brakes are designed for centerline
loading; that is, they are designed for work in the
center of the press brake bed. Te ram power
comes from the cylinders on either side of the bed,
60%
When Reversed
Loses Center Maintains Center
Figure 2
Deection is the temporary deformation of the press
brake ram and bed that occurs naturally under a load.
An overtonnage situation can push a brake beyond its
deection limit, causing upset, where the ram and bed
stay in a permanently deected, or bent, state.
Figure 3
Generally, you should never apply full machine tonnage
over an area thats less than 60 percent of the distance
between the side frames.
Figure 4
Standard American tooling (left) is reversible as far as
pressure ow is concerned, but it can lose its center in
the die. Note the small space that appears between the
punch and right-hand die face. European-style tooling
(on the right) is completely reversible as far as centers
are concerned, but the pressure ow changes, as shown
in Figure 5.
Figure 5
European-style tooling can be reversed, but the pressure
ow changes. As shown on the right, the pressure ows
past the ram and onto the mounting bolts. Tis creates a
very dangerous situation.
Make one miscalculation, and pieces of tooling can y
while, at the same time, you may exceed the ram center
load, causing the press brake ram and bed to bend.
If you dont believe this can happen, look at almost
any high-mileage mechanical press brake and count the
number of shims between the die and the bed.
Aug13FAB_PressBrakes.indd 65 7/23/13 11:18 AM