CNC press brake programming
What a press brake program controls and holds, the material and tooling inputs behind a predicted angle, a worked method from drawing to a checked first part, and how to trace defects to their causes, set beside how AFS's folder receives a profile.
4 lessons · about 47 min · 9 diagrams · 6 videos
Version 1.0.0
Builds on these modules
Lessons
0 of 4 complete
Lesson 1 · 13 min · 12 slides · 10 questions
CNC press brake programming: principles and terminology
What a press brake control runs, its ram and backgauge axes, what one program step holds, the two meanings of "bend angle", how AFS's folder receives a profile instead, and the guarding rules.
You will be able to: Name the controlled axes and the program parameters of a CNC press brake, explain what a program holds and how a profile for AFS's folder differs, and state the safety boundary.
Not startedStart →Lesson 2 · 12 min · 12 slides · 9 questions
CNC press brake programming: materials, standards and design constraints
Why the control predicts the angle from a model, the vee, radius and springback inputs, why a gauge number is not a thickness, where angle error comes from, angle and thickness sensing, and the rules and AFS limits that apply.
You will be able to: Explain which material and tooling inputs a press brake control uses to predict an angle, why thickness, strength and alignment errors show up as angle errors, which rules bind, and which AFS limits govern AFS orders.
Not startedStart →Lesson 3 · 11 min · 11 slides · 7 questions
CNC press brake programming: methods and worked application
The method from drawing to a checked, saved program, worked blank, gauge and penetration numbers from the Cincinnati charts, simulation and sequence rules, and an AFS drip edge written as a feature list with both angle readings.
You will be able to: Apply a documented method to build and check a press brake program for a simple part, recording inputs, units, assumptions, simulation and first-part inspection, and write an AFS profile as an ordered feature list.
Not startedStart →Lesson 4 · 11 min · 12 slides · 7 questions
CNC press brake programming: defects, verification and case study
Symptoms traced to program causes and their sourced fixes, four decisions done wrong and right, case studies on drifting angles, a wrong part from an angle mix-up and a fatal ejection, and the first-part sign-off record.
You will be able to: Diagnose a program-caused defect from its symptom, choose a sourced correction, and document the evidence for review, including the first-part check and the record a folder send leaves.
Not startedStart →
Practical task
Prepare a documented programming job packet for two parts: a 90 degree L-bracket in 22 ga mild steel for a press brake, worked from Cincinnati's published charts, and FlashDraft's Drip Edge (No Hem) written as a folder profile. Decide, calculate, check and record each one as if it were going to the machine.
Hand in
- A decision rationale: why each part is a press brake or folder part, which manufacturer charts and which AFS limits apply, and which rules bind (29 CFR 1910.212 and 1910.147)
- A sketch of the L-bracket with flat legs (the straight lengths before the bend starts, as AE-103 draws them), the blank width (3.577 in for 1.500 and 2.000 in flat legs) and the gauge setting (1.5385 in), every input with its source and unit
- A thickness note: why a gauge number alone does not fix the thickness, with the three "22 ga" values (0.0299, 0.03125 and 0.0336 in), the vee the 8 times thickness rule gives for the mild steel and the galvanized values, and the vee AE-103's chart lists for those gauges
- The Drip Edge (No Hem) as a feature list (legs 2, 1.5, 0.5 in) with each bend written both ways (90 and 142 degrees included; 90 and 38 degrees bent), and a note on which reading the receiving control must be confirmed to use
- A completed first-part and sign-off checklist: tools, crowning, simulation, safety settings, first-part angles measured, flange positions, correction decisions and the save decision
- A defect analysis of one assigned symptom: the cause traced to a program input, the sourced correction, and the evidence that proved it
Rubric
| Criterion | Meets the standard when |
|---|---|
| Sources | Every value names its owner: a manufacturer chart or manual, a CFR section, AMS Controls, or an AFS register. No manufacturer value is presented as an AFS value. |
| Calculations | Blank, bend allowance (0.077 in), gauge and die penetration are worked with units and match the Cincinnati formulas; chart values are called approximate. |
| Thickness | The packet shows why a gauge number alone is not enough and gives both vee readings (the 8 times rule and the AE-103 chart) without claiming either one picks the die. |
| Angle convention | Both readings of each drip edge bend are given and add to 180 degrees; the packet says the receiving control's convention must be confirmed and checked on the first piece. |
| Verification | The first-part angles are recorded, a first part out of tolerance is corrected and re-checked, corrections during the run follow the two-consecutive-bends rule, and the save decision is recorded. |
| Safety | The packet names the guarding method, reviews forming speed, speed change point, mute position, stroke and force limit, and states lockout for setup work in the point of operation. |