Bending is a technology for cold plastic deformation of metal. It involves changing the shape of sheet metal by deforming it using a die and a movable punch. Bending enables the production of complex volumetric metal products.

Free cold working of the workpiece V-shaped is the most popular and common variant of metal bending. It is usually performed using a universal or specialized tool on a CNC hydraulic press brake. The die is usually located in the lower, fixed part of the press, and the punch is attached to the movable working beam of the machine. In this way, the movable punch exerts the required pressure on the processed sheet of material and, together with the stationary die, produces specific bends. In other words, the upper part of the workpiece is compressed under the action of the punch and die, while the lower part is pressed against the walls of the die mechanism and stretched, thus ensuring the required bending angle and radius. When bending plastic deformation the workpiece, the punch is placed on the inside of the bending corner and the die is placed on the outside of the bending corner.

The free cold forming process is typically used for metal semi-finished products with a thickness of 0.1 to 8 mm, but the exact range of possible thicknesses for a specific product depends on the type and grade of metal. It is also necessary to determine the possible bending radii in advance.

The available bending angles for the bending equipment we use range from 24-25° to 170-179°. It is also possible to achieve smaller bending angles. For this purpose, the die of the hydraulic press brake must be additionally equipped with a rolling tool. This upgrade allows the bending angle to be reduced to less than 24 degrees. Sheet metal with a thickness of 0.1 to 1.5 mm can be flattened.