48" Press Brake Project

[BESRK]

Yeah.. I kinda figured on that. I'll give it a whirl.. maybe use the "tack,tack,tack" method to limit heat. I can also run a brake hone thru the tube to clean it up if need be. I may even have some 2"x.250" laying around somewhere. If it binds, I'll toss it and start over on that part.

[BESRK]

Son was doing a little powdercoating today so I had him shoot some Candy Green Sparkle on the handwheel. Then, I installed an aluminum handle on it.

[BESRK]

Almost finished with the backgauge.. got most of it tacked together and did some bending with it already.

I should've run the guide rods closer together (and may still move them).. maybe 18" apart or so. That would minimize "yaw" in the system. However, it works pretty well "as is".

I put some slots in the gantry system so I can move things around if need be. I also cut a radius slot in the top plate so I can mount plates at different angles if need be.

I'm still waiting for the 37" DRO to come in but I can use a tape measure in the meantime..



Here's the backstop.. simple bracket cut from 1/4" and bent to a 90. Adjustable up/down to accomodate different bottom dies.


Able to run the backstop all the way up to the center of the die..

[North Shore Fab]

any idea of a rough foot print for the whole machine. the back gauge looks pretty sweet. now get a stepper and throw it on the lead screw and make it automated

[BESRK]

Probably about 10ft x 4ft.

[Benderart]

Once you get the bugs outta the system, you're gonna have to pretty it up to match the handwheel.....
Great build.

[seanmurphy265]

I'm loving this build thread! This makes me want to build one! I could see myself buying a piece here and there; probably take a year or more to gather up all the stuff.

The steel company I worked for had a large brake, I can't remember the overall length, but I remember bending plate over 10'. As large of machine as that was not every piece was perfect; some of the problems were operator error, and some problems were material related (cheap over seas steel). The fact that your close on your bends says a lot.

We also had a punch that fit in place of the dies. It worked pretty good, but I can't remember how large of an opening it needed.

[BESRK]

Plus.. if I overbend something, I just flip it over and use the punch to "spread" it out a bit.. already did that on a couple test bends while dialing in the stroke control.

I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of trial and error with this thing, especially since I've never worked with a large press before.

[North Shore Fab]

so its been a month how is this thing running? have you added any more bells and whistle?

[BESRK]

Originally Posted by North Shore Fab

so its been a month how is this thing running? have you added any more bells and whistle?

No.. haven't even finished welding. As soon as it was able to "bend", I started using it (like every other "almost finished" project I've ever done). I've bent a couple hundred various small brackets, a couple bumpers and a dozen or so winch plates on it. I still haven't installed the digital readout for the backstop yet. I've just been measuring with a machinist's rule to get the backstop depth.

The stroke control works well once it's dialed in for a specific run of parts. Have to change the depth for different lengths of the same thickness due to springback... but it's not too difficult. If I overbend something, I just flip it over and push on the backside of the bend to spring it back a bit.

I do need to make a small "work shelf" on it to stack parts when I'm bending. Currently, I set a foot stool next to me to serve as my little work table..

If I ever get a breather, I'll finish welding and shoot some paint. Till then, I'm gonna pull the lever and try to make some $$$ with this thing.

Anyone have suggestions on how much to charge for bending? I know we've discussed plasma cutting pricing at length.. not too familiar with press brake bending. Kind of leaning toward $20 setup fee and $1.00 per bend per linear foot?

[North Shore Fab]

my steel supplier charges a minimum of $5 cut/bend fee or 15 for 15 mins so roughly 60 an hour. if you call and just need something bent im pretty sure they use what ever die is in there, they normally are bending over .25'' plate and thicker and if you need something thinner you get a large radius on the bend.

[Heartburns26]

You my friend have some FAB skills

Holy fucking shit!

[BESRK]

Originally Posted by Heartburns26

You my friend have some FAB skills

Holy fucking shit!

Thank you!

However, it really looks more "daunting" than it really is. On a scale of 1-10, this is probably a 6-7 in difficulty level.. if you have the proper tools. Remember for the most part, it's just a bunch of flat plate, a few pivot pins/bushings and a log splitter hydraulic system.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by BESRK

Anyone have suggestions on how much to charge for bending? I know we've discussed plasma cutting pricing at length.. not too familiar with press brake bending. Kind of leaning toward $20 setup fee and $1.00 per bend per linear foot?

I just charge shop rate. Half hour minimum.

[seanmurphy265]

I would think a half hour would be the minimum for one part. Taking into account setting up a new die, and sometimes experimenting with a piece of material or two. After that I would think you would want some type of per piece rate. Something like $10.00 - $15.00 for 1-10 pieces in addition to you set up fee. Then add $5.00 if the part needs a second bed, $3.00 for each additional bend.

There are always the parts that are not worth the shop rate. Someone comes in with a piece of 1/4" already cut ready to go, and the machine has the die already set up from a previous job.

With a machine like that you are offering a service and part of that service is paying for your machine, dies, fluid, hoses, and fittings all the maintenance. Oxygen and acetylene have gotten expensive so I could easily burn through $200.00 of gas in one hour trying to bend my own parts. There's no way I could bend as many parts as you can. Not to mention I would also need an extra set of hands to do that.

I would think you would want at least a 50% profit margin(not mark up) over your cost to operate the machine (wages, electricity, shop supplies, etc). I would think machine would not be the type of machine to be cheaper than everyone. I know when I worked in structural steel the concrete parts had tons of crazy bent plates, and sometimes it came down to who could bend them and not price.

[Todd W]

Call around asking other shops to quote a price for a part, and note how they charge, and all the details. Then come up with your own strategy as a starting point based on other local shop charges, and then as you start doing more work you can refine your process, and price to best fit your needs.

[carslut]

35 setup plus 3 a bend sounds fair, well unless ur doing work for me then its a bacon cheese burger and large coke!

[BESRK]

Originally Posted by carslut

35 setup plus 3 a bend sounds fair, well unless ur doing work for me then its a bacon cheese burger and large coke!

That's why I fawkin weigh 300lbs.. Everybody wants to pay in burgers and beer.

[gladiator products]

THANKS FOR THE FILE EDDIE
i HAVE BUILT A 24INCH ,48INCH AND 96 INCH PRESS BRAKE FROM YOUR PLANS I bUILT ALL OF MINE OUT OF 1 INCH WITH MY CNC AND OFFERD A KIT FOR THE GUYS IN MY TOWN ON CL SO THOSE THAT DONT HAVE A CNC AND 14GRAND CAN AFORD TO START THEIR OWN PRESS BRAKE PROJECT

RIGHT NOW THEY WORK AWSOME IM POWDER COATING THEM ALL

[comeoutswingin]

So whats the deal with the guy on craigslist selling your work?

[gladiator products]

We have a DARPA project we are not allowed to have any cell phones or camras is our shop till it's done all I was selling on CL is the cut plates out of 1 inch plate and they do ther own welding and bolting it up I'm not trying piss any one off or steal anybody stuff

[Jeep07]

Did the author give you the rights to the files and design?

[BESRK]

I figure once I send someone a file, or post a project on a public forum, the person(s) are free to use that file/info anyway they see fit. If I had planned to produce these brakes and sell them (turnkey or kit), then I would've been careful not to divulge the important stuff nor share any files.

Keep in mind, I took an existing design and just modified it to work with my "small shop" capability. It's certainly not a very difficult task to knock one of these out from scratch if you have access to a CAD program and have some decent mechanical/fabrication experience. Since the original Iriquois is basically a bunch of flat plate, it's easy to take a good pic of the original, import it into CAD, scale it, trace the pieces, and then tweak them for cutting.

Gladiator, I'd really like to see pics of some of your brakes.. especially the smaller ones.. Sneak a camera in and take pics..

[gladiator products]

I will drag the 2 ft out of my shop and take some pics for you.
The reson I offered the kit, that after I built mine my other fab buddies and ther buddieds wanted one I gave them the plans so they could cut it out they got a couple quotes 2,800 for flame and hi def plasma , 4,200 for water jet
so they asked i told them just 1,800 with plate.
all of the big fab shops charge my friends alot to do a little work and most the time they screw it up and my buddies would call me up to fix the mistakes (over bent ect.
so all iIwas trying to do is see who els would like to have ther own press brake so they wernt getting charged 150 hour and the bends went right

IM not trying to off any thing if i wanted to do that i would go in to I would run for office and get paid for the rest of my life for doing nothing

[S1036s]

Besrk, I skimmed through this thread, but did you mention how much travel/ stroke the machine has at the bed?
Other pressbrakes have an adjustable bed. Without one, how much travel do you have?