Basically two types of machines are widely used in metal forming industries. One is sheet bending machine and other is lathe machine. A sheet bending machine is the one that bends metal sheets into miraculous shapes whereas the lathe machine is used to create metal work pieces with evenness about an axis connected with rotation.
Different kinds of sheet bending machines are employed for various metal bending and shaping tasks in industries. Press brakes and power press machines are the popular ones.
Press Brake
Press brake is a special kind of sheet bending machine in which strain is exerted by the upper punch tool of the machine on the material placed on the die tool at the bottom. The material gets deformed as per the shape of the die. If the die is U-shaped the metal will deformed to U shape and if V-die is used then metal will be bent into V-shape. Depending on the type of force used to exert strain on the material, the machine is classified into various categories; mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and servo-electric machines. In mechanical press brake, electric motor is the source of energy used to empower the flywheel that is engaged by clutch to power a crank mechanism that moves the ram vertically to perform bending job. The advantage of mechanical press brake is that accurate tasks can be performed much faster but the problem is the control over the motion of the ram which cannot be easily stopped at any required time as that in the hydraulic ones. The hydraulic press brakes that are operated by synchronized hydraulic cylinders are safer and energy saving metal benders in which ram motion can be stopped at any time. On the other hand pneumatic and servo-electric machines that operate by air pressure and servo motors respectively are generally preferred for low tonnage applications.
Power Press
Power press machines are used to lower, press, fold and kind sheet metal into various shapes and sizes. These machines are usually equipped with parts like shaft, gears, clutch, table and ram to enable for easy, quick and precise sheet bending operations. C type power press and pillar type power press are the popular categories of power press machines used in industries.
Apart from bending, metals are also shaped to create axis symmetrical objects and this task is accomplished with the help of lathe machines. A lathe is a machine tool which rotates the work piece on its axis and various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation are performed with tools on the work piece to create an object that is symmetrical about the axis of rotation. Different kinds of lathe machines like CNC lathe, roll turning lathe and all-geared lathes are generally employed in industries to accurately shape out different kinds of metals as per requirements. Lathe machines with best features can accurately machine out even the hardest metal into a functional work piece.
