In Metal fabrication industry, cost-effectiveness is something that can’t get unnoticed. Whatever the tool or machine is, Metal fabrication owners always look for a way to replace or update it. But not in case of press brakes.

Most of the time, the press brake ends up lying around with the scrap metal. But a cost-efficient approach would be to increase its productivity by retrofitting the press brake with time-saving setup, operation, and scarp fatigue. This will not only work for your old one but also increase the productivity of your properly functioning press brake too.

Here’s how to do it.

1.   Examine its Electrical, Mechanical, and Hydraulic condition

Check if the ram is accurate or not. See if it is leveled on both sides equally. Depending on your metal bending methods, accuracy may vary. Now, check the pedestal control. Sometimes, faulty backgauge controls can be the reason for not getting precise metal bending results. By replacing the control, the efficiency of metal bending or metal rolling can be increased to an extent. Lastly, check if all the press brake option is working properly or not. Sometimes, a press brake machine can work easily without programmable control heads. In those cases, operating the machine manually for metal bending can be a cost-efficient solution.

2.  Get to know what you are working with

There are two main types of Press brakes. Mechanical press Brake and Hydraulic Press Brake.

Before you decide what you are going to do with the press brake, just make sure you know the ins and out of the unit. This will help you take the decision.

Check the parts. See if it’s programmable or manual. Know the ram repeatability.

If you own a big fabrication shop, you might not get the details right unless you ask the operators. But if you are constantly checking up on your employees and machines, this information is already inside your head.

3.  Assess its pain points

Is it forthgauging or backgauging? Which one makes more sense? Are you frequently changing the tools? Do you die heights change, when you change the tools? Are the ram depth and angle adjusted manually? Get all the answers. Asses all the information about the pain points. For example, is you operator handling same parts multiple time? Is the gauging area changing within the part? Does the operator adjust the finger very often?

Sometimes, the programming can be the reason for your pain. Find out if your operator is capable of creating the programs for the machine. Many high-end retrofit control offers the opportunity to pre-program the job from their own computer.

4.  Evaluate the approaches and get to a conclusion

Evaluating the possible approaches are your next step. See which retrofit company can give your press brake a modern look so that it doesn’t look like an old junk beside your laser cutting machine. Then execute the plan.

Conclusion: Stainless Steel fabrication, Aluminium fabrication or just regular Steel fabrication, in Metal fabrication industry, there’s no way you can compromise the cost-efficiency and the productivity. So always look for ways to make your machines more productive yet keeping the fabrication process cost-effective. This is the formula for success in the metal fabrication industry.