Has the 3d Printer killed the bending brake?

[way_up_north]

at first I would say poppycock...nonsense....but see for yourself...fabricators are coming up with ingenious work arounds..

there will always be a need for the bending brake...but the ease of the press brake..and custom fabricated jigs...makes one wonder if the 3d printer is going to take out the 4000lbs bending brake monsters to pasture one day....


these cheap plastic bend dies are just held on with magnets

This video blew me away...wow...

 

[way_up_north]

this video shows how you can take a low rent harbor freight sheer and turn it into an aviation press brake beast...

 

[way_up_north]

 

[way_up_north]

 

[way_up_north]

 

[Archer39J]

I've made dimple dies with mine, and for some stuff at work for brackets with multiple bends. 3D printing is a game changer, not just for prototypes, you can do decent production runs with the right infill and some clever design. Even then it's only dollars worth of material to print a new set. We don't even do this stuff on the regular, I can't imagine what real sheet metal fabricators are doing in-house.

 

[way_up_north]

I've made dimple dies with mine, and for some stuff at work for brackets with multiple bends. 3D printing is a game changer, not just for prototypes, you can do decent production runs with the right infill and some clever design. Even then it's only dollars worth of material to print a new set. We don't even do this stuff on the regular, I can't imagine what real sheet metal fabricators are doing in-house.

I’ve been thinking about how to create a very low cost 8 foot press brake... a real game changing method to bend aluminum and thin steel at very low cost with no welding needed

using 2 car tire scissor jacks or other jacks...and 1 inch Baltic birch as the frame... 3D printed dies... I’m trying to envision it in my mind ...then hit fusion 360

im thinking foot actuated jack so you can hold the part and the bottom die rises to meet the top die

 

[BravoGolf]

I had someone’s print these dies as an experiment. I still need to print a routing/cutting die to see if it will hold up to repeated use cutting blanks. Might be useful for a tool lending program so folks don’t have to make forms. Otherwise the cost probably out weighs the benefit. Unless money is no issue and if that’s the case you should just order them from Mark. The dies on the right were made with MDF by another builder.