A press brake (also: die bending press) is used for the cold forming of sheet metal: by lowering a punch into a die, the sheet metal in between is formed at a precise angle and without cutting; the edges of the bending tool or die determine the subsequent shape of the workpiece.
The bending process can be repeated several times; the resulting bending angle of the starting material is also determined by the degree to which the bending tool is lowered.
The result of the bending process is three-dimensional parts.
For health and safety reasons, such machines were equipped with a two-hand safety circuit until around the turn of the millennium; however, this soon became too time-consuming and was therefore often bypassed, which is why travelling safety devices have become established. In addition, the parts to be produced today are more complex and often have to be guided by hand, which would not be possible with the outdated method.
In contrast to the hand-operated press brake, the press brake is power-driven and allows the forming of thicker or large-format starting materials.
Another option for cold forming sheet metal is swivelling bending.
