Form-Fitting Bending Cells

摘要

Small parts flow from downsized press brakes with integrated automation. Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into a form, can be awkward. Try making a series of crisp creases, in the proper places, in the correct sequence, in a small piece of paper. Fingers or hands that are too big or clumsy can get in the way. Change the medium from paper to a 12- by 12-inch or smaller piece of metal and fold it on a press brake. Using big equipment can make the process downright problematic. When you add robotics to the mix, the size of the arms and end-of arm-tooling can impede getting close enough to the brake to get the job done. If automation to change brake tooling is part of the process, it may need to slim down to reach behind and in-between what can be a smaller access area.