electromagnetic sheet metal bending machine Magnabend 1000E

Advantages
Magnabend™ is an innovative concept in sheet metal forming which gives you much more freedom to make the shapes you want. The machine is very different from ordinary folders because it clamps the work piece with a powerful electro-magnet rather than by mechanical means. This leads to numerous advantages over standard folding machines & press brakes:

Much greater versatility than conventional sheet metal benders.
No limitation to depth of boxes.
Can form deep channels, and completely closed sections.
Automatic clamping and unclamping means faster operation, less fatigue.
Accurate and continuous indication of beam angle.
Quick and accurate setting of angle stop.
Unlimited throat depth.
Infinite length bending in stages is possible.
Open ended design allows folding of complex shapes.
Machines can be ganged end-to-end for long bending.
Adapts easily to customised tooling (clamp bars of special cross-sections).
Self-protecting – machine cannot be overloaded.
Neat, compact and modern design.

How it Works
The fundamental principle of the Magnabend™ machine is that it uses electromagnetic, rather than mechanical clamping. The machine is basically a long electromagnet with a steel clamp-bar located above it. In operation, a sheet metal work-piece is clamped between the two by a force of many tonnes. A bend is formed by rotating the bending beam which is mounted on special hinges at the front of the machine. This bends the work-piece around the front edge of the clamp-bar.

Using the machine is simplicity itself; slip the sheet metal work-piece in under the clamp-bar, press the start-button to initiate clamping, pull the handle to form the bend to the desired angle, and then return the handle to automatically release the clamping force. The folded work-piece may now be removed or re-positioned ready for another bend.

If a large lift is required e.g. to allow the insertion of a previously bent work-piece, the clamp-bar may be manually lifted to any required height. Conveniently located adjusters at each end of the clamp-bar allow easy adjustment of the bend radius produced in work-pieces of various thicknesses. If the rated capacity of the Magnabend™ is exceeded then the clamp-bar simply releases, thus minimising the possibility of damage to the machine. A graduated scale continuously indicates the bend angle.

Magnetic clamping means that bending loads are taken right at the point where they are generated; forces do not have to be transferred to support structures at the ends of the machine. This in turn means that the clamping member does not need any structural bulk and hence can be made much more compact and less hindering. (The thickness of the clamp-bar is determined only by its requirement to carry sufficient magnetic flux and not by structural considerations at all.)

The unique centerless compound hinges which have been developed especially for the Magnabend™, are distributed along the length of the bending beam and thus, like the clamp-bar, take bending loads close to where they are generated. The combined effect of the magnetic clamping with the special centerless hinges means that the Magnabend™ is a very compact, space saving, machine with a very high strength-to-weight ratio.

Special tooling can be quickly improvised from pieces of steel to help fold-up difficult shapes, and for production work the standard clamp-bars can be replaced by specialised tooling.

All Magnabend™ machines come with a detailed manual which covers how to use the machines as well as how to make various common items. Operator Safety is enhanced by a two-handed electrical interlock that ensures a safe pre-clamping force is applied before full clamping occurs.

Magnabend 1000E Standard Equipment
Backstops for positioning the work-piece.
Angle scale on the folding beam with stop.
Wide clamping bar with positioning balls (width 100mm).
Narrow clamping bar (width 50mm).
Set segmented clamping bars (width 100mm).
Slotted clamping bar for folding shallow boxes (max. length 1300mm / width 100mm).
Storage tray.