You would like to compare before buying a horizontal bending machine?

Bending Capacity and Material Thickness

The maximum tonnage that your bending machine is able to apply as well as the maximum thickness of various materials that it is able to bend. Note that a machine rated for 6mm mild steel may not be able to bend the same thickness of stainless steel.

Working Length and Throat Depth

The working length is the maximum length of a workpiece that can be bent in one pass. The throat depth is the distance between the centerline of the workpiece and the machine frame. For structural steel work, a minimum throat depth of 150 mm to 200 mm is usually required.

Tooling Compatibility and Quick-Change Systems

The variety of tooling that a horizontal bending machine can be supplied with determines how flexible a machine is for different applications. Important is whether standard radius formers from various suppliers can be used for the tooling. Also, quick-change clamping of the tooling on the machine is very important for long runs of mixed profiles as it saves a lot of time for retooling.

CNC Versus Manual Control

CNC allows for bend sequences to be stored and re-run many times within a batch, allowing for strict tolerances to be maintained. Manual bending machines on the other hand are cost effective at first but only suitable for low volume work or one off jobs, with no stored programs.

Safety and Compliance

When comparing horizontal bending machines it is also important to check the safety of the machinery and whether it meets the machinery safety requirements when applying PUWER. It should have adequate guarding, emergency stops and be clearly marked with CE or UKCA marking. Euromac Bending Machines are a well established manufacturer within the market for horizontal bending machines.

Euromac Bending Machines is covered in more detail at https://www.cotswold-machinery-sales.co.uk/euromac-bending-machines/horizontal-bending-machines.

Getting the specifications right at the comparison stage can save you from making an expensive mistake.