How Does commercial appliances panel bender Work?

How Does a Commercial Appliances Panel Bender Work?

Commercial appliance panel benders are increasingly becoming a vital component in modern manufacturing due to their efficiency and effectiveness. According to Google search results, these machines not only streamline production processes but also minimize manual labor, reducing operational costs significantly. The main principle involves the stationary part being bent by moving tools, allowing for consistent, precision bends that can handle complex geometries and large sizes without the need for constant tool changes. This core attribute makes panel benders incredibly efficient, with some models completing a bend in as little as 4-5 seconds.

Panel Bending Helps Open Operational Bottlenecks in Fab

As is commonly known in the sheet metal fabrication industry, the bending operation typically represents a bottleneck in the production process. Panel bending technology can be useful in helping metal fabricators streamline this process while significantly increasing manufacturing capacity and velocity. The ROI for a panel bender can be quick when the application and annual usage for the part mix are a good match.

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Understanding Panel Bending Technology

The Mechanism of Panel Bending

To gain a better understanding of the technology, it is important to note that panel benders work on an entirely different principle than press brakes. The part remains stationary while the bending tool forms flanges both up and down. The part then is rotated as the machine continues through the bending process for all sides, allowing for a very efficient bending process averaging four to five seconds per bend. Typically enclosure and flat panel parts are an excellent fit for panel benders. Large parts that are difficult to handle on a press brake can be especially good applications as well.

How Can Panel Bending Increase Bending Capacity and Speed?

Setup Time Reduction

It is generally agreed that the average setup time on a press brake is 15 to 30 minutes, which explains the push for automatic tool changeover systems that many press brake OEMs now offer. In fact, the setup time can be so excessive that fabricators will overproduce just to amortize the setup back into the production run. Unfortunately, the parts that are not needed right away can end up sitting around somewhere as inventory, work-in-process (WIP), or worse yet, get lost or thrown away by mistake.

Setup on a panel bender is much quicker because a panel bender can use common tooling to process a variety of part geometries and material thicknesses. The operator is not required to exchange tooling physically when going from one job to another. Setup for the next job simply involves sliding the clamping tools to the new positions as needed. This can be done manually, which takes about five minutes, or with an automatic tool changer, which further decreases the setup to about 90 seconds.

The reduction in setup time that a panel bender provides is advantageous for fabricators that wish to embrace the principles of lean manufacturing, making only what they need when they need it and reducing WIP.

Operational Improvements and Lean Manufacturing

Panel bending technology works according to the transfer line principle, so that parts are always moving ahead as different stations work simultaneously. By using a modular approach, fabricators can combine multiple bending units to reduce the bending cycle time further.

This method is especially useful for achieving a 1-1 ratio between the blanking and bending operations. Once a balanced ratio is achieved, the blanking and bending processes can be integrated into one complete line without one machine or process waiting on the other. The entire process can be further optimized by feeding the finished parts directly to the assembly area, eliminating additional handling and WIP.

Expanding Capabilities for More Part Geometries

Caveats and Misfits

As with all technologies, panel bending has some caveats to its advantages. Many fabricators get excited about adding this technology to their operation only to find they do not have the right mix of parts to keep such an efficient machine busy. In many cases, complex part geometries or narrow parts can be a misfit for panel bending if the machine cannot process these types of parts with the common tooling and manipulator concept that the machine design is based on.

The idea behind the multitool panel bender was inspired by relentless research on how to expand the capability so that more types of part geometries could be processed to completion without additional manual tooling changeover.

Innovative Multi-Tool Design

A console is incorporated into the multitool panel bender’s design so that it can accommodate multiple bending tools. This enables it to bend intricate part profiles that previously were not good candidates for panel bending. An additional manipulator device on the backside of the multitool panel bender allows fabricators to process narrow channel-type parts that had been considered a challenge for traditional panel bending.

The multitool panel bender works with mild steel sheet thicknesses from 0.020 to 0.118 in. and lengths up to 13 ft. for a single machine and up to 26 ft. with two machines in tandem. Additional features such as moving tools, visual inspection devices, grippers, and custom tools can be incorporated into the final system.

The multitool panel bender is designed to be simple to program, control, and maintain, all while powered using electric drives for low energy consumption.

Streamlining the Entire Process

Addressing Multiple Bottlenecks

It is important to note that panel bending addresses not only the bending bottleneck but downstream operations as well. An analysis of the different processes in an average sheet metal fabrication shop shows that welding and assembly are by far the most expensive processes on the shop floor, with one of the main culprits being poor fit-up. How much time does the welding operator have to spend trying to make the part fit in the welding fixture rather than weld? How often does the assembly operator struggle to get the parts to fit together? This happens more often than not.

Improved Accuracy and Flatness

Panel benders can help streamline these downstream operations by producing parts with high flatness and accuracy. Superior flatness is achieved because unlike a press brake with dynamic crowning, minimal tonnage is placed across the bending line.

Accuracy improvements are attributable to how the part is referenced. It is referenced from a single datum point, eliminating what is known as tolerance error accumulation. When making multiple bends on a press brake, the operator often is required to gauge from previously bent flanges. This opens the opportunity for the tolerance error to accumulate, leaving the welding or assembly operator as the last line of defense to correct the problem. A quick overview of the welding and assembly departments is a good place to start when evaluating the bending process.

When is a Panel Bender a Good Fit?

Ideal for Specific Industries and Shapes

Panel benders are a good fit for large, boxy, flat, straight, and rectangular parts that are difficult to bend and handle by a single person using a press brake or when dealing with highly cosmetic parts.

Panel bending is commonly used to form:

• Appliances such as refrigerators
• Electrical appliances such as electric cabinets and lighting.
• HVAC equipment
• Construction components such as panels, doors, elevators, cable trays, platforms, and profiles.
• Metal furniture for commercial kitchens, offices, storage, and lockers
• Truck trailers

Cosmetic Parts

Panel bending is especially applicable for bending cosmetic, or appearance, parts. Supported by a brush table underneath, the bending tool’s interpolated movement in the X and Y axes maintains a single point of contact to the flange during the bending process, thereby significantly reducing scratching and marring.

Panel bending technology offers many benefits in modern sheet metal manufacturing. While panel benders do have some limitations in the types of parts they can process, they can be a most efficient bending method when the application fits.

The Panel Bender: Your Ultimate Guide

The Salvagnini P4 panel bender, which was introduced in 1977, revolutionized the industry with its flexible, automated sheet metal forming technology. Since then, Salvagnini has continued to innovate with models like the P1 Lean panel bender (the smallest in the family with a large forming length of 1250mm and an average power consumption of only 3 kWh per hour) and the P2L-21 compact panel bender (used in the commercial kitchen industry with a forming length of 2180mm and an average power consumption as low as 5 kWh per hour).

While the high one-time investment cost may deter some sheet metal processing users, the efficiency and intelligence of panel benders make them a revolutionary alternative to traditional press bending machines. With their highly intelligent operating control system, panel benders can efficiently bend different workpieces, making them ideal for companies looking to automate and improve their production processes.

Panel Bender History

In Europe and the United States, companies often face a higher proportion of human resources costs. Especially in Northern Europe, the vast majority of companies are eager to address the high cost of labor.

Therefore, European and American enterprises have long prioritized “improving production efficiency and reducing manpower” and have launched a series of automatic and intelligent initiatives. More companies are beginning to consider purchasing smarter equipment and even embracing automated, unmanned production lines.

It has been 40 years since Salvagnini introduced the world’s first P4 panel bender in 1977. The Salvagnini P4 panel bender’s revolutionary universal bending tools and robots introduced flexible, automated sheet metal forming technology to the industry in the late 1970s.

Salvagnini Panel Bender

P1 Lean Panel Bender
The P1 Lean panel bender (Fig. 1) is the smallest model in the family of Salvagnini Panel Benders, with a large forming length of 1250mm, full servo drive, fast speed, and an average power consumption of only 3 kWh per hour.

The small size of the machine allows for the production of small parts, making it very cost-effective.

P2L-21 Compact Panel Bender
The P2L-21 Compact panel bender (Fig.2) is the main machine used in the commercial kitchen industry, with a forming length of 2180mm.

The new generation P2L adopts servo motor direct drive, which can meet most of the processing requirements of panel products, covering an area of 6m×3m. The cylinder hybrid drive ensures the long-term stability of the equipment and reduces the maintenance workload, with an average power consumption as low as 5 kWh per hour.

P4-2116 HPT Standard Panel Bender
The P4-2116 HPT is a standard panel bender with semi-automatic loading and unloading (Figure 3), which can be used during machine production. The loading and unloading operations can be carried out without interrupting production, resulting in a significant increase in machine availability.

As a standard panel bender, the P4 can be loaded with additional options to expand production capacity, making it the ideal machine for several major refrigerator manufacturers.

S4+P4 Flexible Manufacturing System
S4+P4 FMS can accommodate the production of more variety and smaller quantities of products that are not yet available.

What is a Panel Bender?

Previously, panel forming was done on dedicated production lines or manually operated pressure-bending machines. Panel benders have natural advantages over press brake machines for panel processing, including labor-saving and speed, as well as good repeatability and consistency of the workpiece.

With the arrival of the Salvagnini panel bender, sheet metal forming has entered the era of complete automation for the first time.

Main Types of Sheet Metal Bending and Forming

• manual bending
• semi-automatic bending
• robot cell bending

However, despite the increasing level of automation, the efficiency bottleneck has not been eliminated.

In a panel bender, there is no need to change the die, the working stroke is short, the feeding is fast, and only one operator is needed to “put in” and “take out” the sheet.

The combined efficiency of the panel bender is 3 to 4 times that of a manually operated bending machine.

Panel benders can meet all user bending needs with their lean, fast, and energy-efficient capabilities.

The highly intelligent operating control system enables efficient bending of different workpieces, making the panel bender a revolutionary alternative to traditional press bending machines.

However, due to the high one-time investment cost, it has not been widely adopted by the majority of sheet metal processing users.

Working Principle of Panel Bender

The panel bender has a new design concept, which involves downward bending with the upper knife and upward bending with the lower knife, with no limit on the number of bending times.

Bending forces are distributed transversely and generated by oscillating components, namely the bending knives.

The binding reaction force is generated by two components that are strongly locked to the sheet.

Downward Bending (Negative Bending)

Upward Bending (Positive Bending)

The bending length can be adjusted automatically, making it easy to realize unmanned production, which is shown schematically in Figure 8.

Panel Bender's Structure

Universal Tooling and Bending Knife

The panel bender uses a universal, adjustable tooling with upper and lower bending knives, eliminating the need for a large number of bending tools based on the shape and size of the workpiece. This significantly reduces the cost and manufacturing time of molds and tools, as well as the preparation time of upper and lower molds and tools.

It also reduces the mold and tool stock, which facilitates production management. Furthermore, the absence of the need to design and manufacture special molds and tools for each product reduces the development cycle of new products, improving the competitiveness of enterprises in today’s increasingly competitive market.

Fast and Efficient Automatic Mold Adjustment Systems

When folding box-shaped parts, you need to adjust the length of the mold according to the length of the inner edge of the workpiece. There are three methods of adjustment:

The first one is manual adjustment and takes 3 minutes.

The second type is semi-automatic adjustment and takes 90 seconds.

The third type is Automatic Adjustment (ALA), which coincides with the other work steps, so no adjustment time is required.

Further reading:A quiz on bending sheet metal and plate

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A Simple and Logical Method of 1-Time Positioning

Before bending, positioning is carried out by the two cutting corners of the sheet instead of the edges of the sheet, which completely avoids the positioning error caused by the shearing of the sheet and improves positioning accuracy.

The sheet only needs to be positioned once in the process of panel bending, avoiding the cumulative error caused by repeated positioning of the sheet.

This greatly improves the final accuracy of the finished product.

High Precision and Multifunctional Robots

The manipulator can move the sheet forward and backward, as well as make discontinuous rotations of 90°, 180°, or 270° during multilateral bending. When the user needs a special angle of rotation, it can also be equipped with a CNC rotary device.

As shown in Figure 3, the panel bender clamps the workpiece with a rotating manipulator, which then clamps the workpiece to the upper and lower presses of the sheet. Between the upper and lower bending knives, the upper and lower bending knives act on the part of the sheet to be bent, making the necessary movements to obtain the bend angle and radius of the arc required by the program.

When one side is bent, the robot automatically rotates the sheet 180° so that the opposite side is bent, followed by the other two sides. When all four sides of the sheet have been bent, the manipulator exits. The panel is released and can be removed by the operator.

If equipped with an automatic loading and unloading system, the panel bending machine can also automatically bend the sheet placed in the designated location, which is after punching and shearing. After the bending is completed, the workpieces will be automatically taken down and stacked neatly. This can realize the automation of the bending process, reduce the labor intensity of the workers, and also avoid the quality accidents that occur due to workers.

The accuracy of the bending parts largely depends on the movement of the manipulator. Therefore, the manipulator of the panel bender has a high degree of positioning accuracy to ensure the accuracy of the bending parts.

Advanced CNC System

The CNC systems of panel benders are based on Windows NT, with a user-friendly interface and an intuitive, easy-to-use human-machine dialogue. They offer powerful simulation, intervention, and documentation functions, as well as self-diagnosis and remote service functions.

In addition to providing fault codes, they can also be displayed graphically. The remote service function allows software engineers to access the customer’s control system remotely and intervene, diagnose, or modify programs. In most cases, the system can be returned to normal operation, eliminating the need for a repair service visit, or basic normal operation can be maintained until a service technician arrives.

Variety of Configurations

To meet the requirements of different users and products, panel benders are available in a variety of models and configurations. For example