Tin bending devices. How to make a do-it-yourself bending machine. Types of bending machines

A lot of products are made from sheet metal - drainage systems, shaped parts for cladding or metal tiles, ebbs for a basement, corners for structures made of profiled sheet, etc. All this can be done by a special bending machine - for sheet metal. How to make a do-it-yourself bending machine and we'll talk in this article.

Types of bending machines

All these devices are referred to as bending machines. With your own hands, it is easiest to make an assembly of the first group, a little more difficult - the third (rolls for sheet metal). Let's talk about them - from how to make a do-it-yourself bending machine.

Simple manual

Shaped metal parts cost a lot of money. Even more than corrugated board or metal tiles, therefore it makes sense to make the simplest machine for bending sheet metal, and with its help to make as many corners, ebbs and other similar parts as you need, and exclusively for your size.

Listogib - side projection

If you are worried about appearance then in vain. On sale today there is sheet metal not only galvanized, but also painted. In all structures, the sheet is fixed tightly, so that it does not slip on the table during work, which means that the paint is not erased or scratched. In places of bending, it is also not damaged. So the products will look quite decent. If you try, it will look even better than what is being sold on the market.

Powerful listogib made of Taurus

This bending machine will require a flat surface (table), preferably metal, three corners with a shelf width of at least 45 mm, and a metal thickness of at least 3 mm. If you plan to bend long workpieces (more than a meter), it is advisable to take the shelves wider and the metal is thicker. You can use brands, but this is for bending metal sheets of large thickness and length.

You will also need metal door hinges (two pieces), two large-diameter screws (10-20 mm), "lambs" on them, a spring. You will also need a welding machine - weld the hinges and make holes (or a drill with a drill for metal).

For a homemade listogib, a 70 mm Tavr was used - three pieces of 2.5 m each, two bolts of 20 mm in diameter, a small piece of metal 5 mm thick (for cutting jibs), a spring. Here is the procedure:

1. Two brands are folded, from both ends they cut out recesses in them under the hinges. The edges of the recesses are beveled at 45 °. The third brand is cut in the same way, only the depth of the groove is made a little more - this will be a clamping bar, so that it should move freely.

   

2. Hinges are welded on both sides (boil from the face and from the inside out).

   

3. To one of the brands (farthest from you, if they are "open"), two jibs are welded on each side. They are needed so that you can install the clamping plate bolt on them.

   

4. Weld the bolt nut to the jibs.

   

5. Install the clamping plate (third cut tee), weld metal plates in the upper part with a hole in the middle. The hole diameter is slightly larger than the bolt diameter. Center the holes so that they are on the same vertical line with the welded nut. Weld.

   

6. Cut the spring so that it raises the clamping bar by 5-7 mm. Pass the bolt into the "ear" of the clamping bar, put on the spring, tighten the nut. After installing the same spring on the other side, the clamping bar rises itself when unscrewed.

   

7. Weld two pieces of reinforcement to the screw head - as handles for tightening.

   

8. Weld the handle to the movable (closest to you) brand. Everything, you can work.

   

This option is very powerful - you can bend long workpieces and a sheet of solid thickness. Such a scale is not always in demand, but it can always be reduced. The video suggests a similar smaller design, but with a different clamping bar mount. By the way, no one bothers to install a spring on the screw too - it will be easier to raise the bar. And this design is interesting in that it is possible to make flanging on it, which usually such devices do not know how.

From a corner with a different type of clamping bar

This model is welded from a thick-walled corner, the bed is made like a regular construction trestle, which is welded from the same corner. The handle is from the luggage trolley. An interesting design of screws - they are long, the handle is bent in the shape of the letter "L". Convenient to twist / unscrew.

This DIY sheet metal bending machine has many features:

Now let's move on to the design of the pressure plate (pictured above). It is also made of a corner, but fits onto the machine with an upward bend. In order to prevent the bar from bending during operation, reinforcement is welded on - metal jumpers. At both ends of the strip, small metal pads are welded, in which holes for bolts are drilled.

Another important point is that the face that faces the bend is cut off - in order to obtain a sharper bend angle.

The clamping bar is laid on the machine, a spring is placed in the place where the nut is installed. The handle is put in place. If it does not press the bar, it is raised above the surface due to the spring force. In this position, the workpiece is tucked under it, exposed, pressed.

A spring is placed under the hole, then a bolt

Not a bad option for home use. It will not be possible to bend thick metal, but tin, galvanized steel is easy.

Rolls for sheet metal or roll bending machine

This type of bending machine can have three types of drive:

• manual;
• hydraulic;
• electric.

Do it yourself rolls for sheet metal with manual or electric drive. In manual ones, they put 3 shafts, in electric ones there can be 3-4, but usually there are also three.

This machine needs a good, reliable base. It can be a separate bed or some kind of workbench or table. The design is based on rolls. They are made the same size. The two lower ones are installed permanently, the upper one is movable, so that in the lower position it is located between the rollers. By changing the distance between the lower rollers and the upper one, the radius of curvature changes.

The machine is driven by a handle attached to one of the shafts. The torque is then transmitted to the other rollers via sprockets. They are selected so that the rotation speed is the same.

If it is supposed to make pipes on the equipment, the upper roller on one side is made removable, with a quick fixing system. Having rolled the sheet into a tube, there is no other way to pull it out.

In the manufacture of metal structures from shaped pipes, the need to bend them often arises. Arched ceilings, greenhouse frames, elements of playgrounds - this is just a small list of objects that require the installation of rounded profiles. In production, special equipment is used to obtain pipes with a given radius of curvature. Considering the cumbersomeness and high cost of such machines, their purchase is impractical for irregular use for domestic purposes. For a home workshop or garage, a profile bender can be made by hand. Everything that is needed for this can be found in the same workshop or found in the garages of friends and acquaintances. Interested in this design? Then put on your work clothes and get down to business!

Profile bending machine. What is it for?

Universal production bending machine

The name of the roll forming machine speaks about the purpose. This is the bending of metal shaped pipes in order to obtain a certain radius of curvature in the required area or along the entire length of the workpiece. Using a profile bender, or in another way a pipe bender, you can perform several technological operations with rolled metal of various types:

• bending of metal bar or reinforcement, including spring steel blanks;
• bending of profile metal-roll of square or rectangular type;
• obtaining elbows from round pipes or bending them at the desired angle;
• rounding of parts of any length from long products (angles, I-beams, channels).

There are several models of bending machines. Some allow you to make efforts only in a certain area of ​​the workpiece. Others roll the pipe between rollers, applying pressure along the entire length. For some reason, it was the latter that received the name "profile benders" from specialists, although both of them are directly related to equipment of the same type. By the way, rolling the workpiece allows you to get a product of complex configuration without preliminary heating, and the bends can be made at an angle from 1 ° to 360 ° in arbitrary planes.

Roll type roll

Just like industrial counterparts, homemade profile benders are electrically driven or work on muscular traction. Of course, the use of an electric motor makes it possible not only to facilitate the processing of workpieces, but also to significantly speed it up.

Profile bender classification

Depending on the type of drive, which, in turn, directly affects the power and productivity of the machine, beams are divided into several types.

Hydraulic machines

Hydraulic drive roll forming machine. Powerful and very expensive

Hydraulic pipe benders are industrial equipment, therefore they have high power and are designed for stationary installation. Such units are used mainly in the conditions of small-scale and batch production, when it is required to obtain a large number of blanks of the same type. The hydraulic drive completely takes the stress off the operator, giving him the ability to operate the machine at the push of a button.

Advantages of hydraulic machines:

• high speed of work;
• complete absence of manual labor;
• ease of use;
• the possibility of bending a large section profile.

The disadvantages of this type of device include high cost, stationary design and complexity due to the use of a hydraulic drive.

Electric profile benders

Electric profile bending machine with screw drive. Inexpensive and functional

Bending machines using electric motors are also stationary equipment, as they require a connection to the electrical network. The electric drive is usually combined with a helical gear, which reduces the cost of equipment, however, and makes it impossible to bend large sections. That is why such machines are found in small businesses and even in private workshops. By the way, there are constructions homemade devices with an electric drive, which function in no way worse than factory counterparts.

Advantages of electric profile benders:

• relatively low cost;
• workpiece processing speed;
• simplicity of design;
• high bending accuracy;
• the possibility of using digital technologies for machine control.

The disadvantages include the same lack of mobility and the impossibility of bending oversized profiles.

Manual machines

Manual profile bending machine. Cheap, mobile option

Manual bending equipment is simple, compact and low cost. Thanks to the uncomplicated design with driven rollers and a movable roller, working with this type of profile bender does not require any qualifications. If necessary, the machine can be easily moved to the place of installation, and the affordable price of such devices determines their widespread use in the household. Of course, the design is not without its drawbacks:

• there is no way to accurately control the bending radius;
• increased processing time of workpieces;
• high physical exercise per operator;
• processing of profiles with a small cross-section.

The advantages and simplicity of the design of hand-held profile benders make them attractive for making in artisanal conditions, therefore, such machines have gained immense popularity among home craftsmen. By the way, manual bending devices can be transferred to the middle category, if necessary, supplementing the structure with an electric drive.

Design and principle of operation of bending units

The design of the simplest roll-type profile bending machine

The main elements of the roll forming machine are the shafts mounted on a sturdy metal frame. In this case, a pair of rolling rollers is responsible for the longitudinal movement of the workpiece, and the movable roller provides pressing on the part. Depending on the design of the unit, the clamping force is regulated over a wide range using a screw pair, a jack or a hydraulic mechanism. The rolls are driven by an electric motor or manually. The last option is used on small devices and is most often repeated by craftsmen at home.

In addition, there are other profile bending designs:

• units with a left movable roller are used to obtain spirals. Most often, such machines are equipped with a CNC and allow you to bend parts, precisely controlling the bending gradient;
• machines with movable lower shafts bend dimensional workpieces, therefore, they are equipped with a hydraulic drive. The presence of a position controller for each shaft makes it possible to obtain parts of complex shapes, up to the twisting of the blanks in a spiral;
• models in which all rollers are movable represent the elite of roll forming equipment and can work with parts of any configuration and thickness.

The main difference between roll forming machines and other tube bending equipment is that the configuration of the workpiece is changed not by bending around the stationary roller, but by the cold rolling method. This allows you to change the configuration of workpieces of any section and length. A similar design will serve as the basis for a homemade machine, which we propose to make on our own.

Diagram showing the operating principle of the rolling tube bender

Required tools and materials

To manufacture a machine for bending shaped pipes, you will need a fairly large number of parts, but this does not mean that you will have to buy all items from the list. The majority of the required materials can be found in any garage or workshop. Here's what you need in the process:

Each master has a tool that will be needed in the process of work:

• angle grinder;
• electric drill;
• a set of drills for metal;
• hammer;
• welding machine;
• set of open-end and socket wrenches.

The only difficulty that will have to be faced is the manufacture of the drive rollers and the pressure roller. Only the happy owners of such equipment have the opportunity to carve them out of a workpiece on a lathe. Nevertheless, do not despair - in any organization there is a turner who will inexpensively manufacture parts according to the presented drawings. The rest of the machine elements can be used second-hand.

Everything you need to make a profile bending machine

The chain drive mechanism can be borrowed from the gas distribution mechanism of automobile engines, and the bearing housings (and the bearings themselves) from old agricultural equipment.

Manufacturing options for manual roll forming machines

To make a roll forming machine, it is not necessary to exactly repeat the existing structure. It is much easier to create a device from your own drawings, based on what is at hand. This will save you time and money and will enable you to design a fixture that is ideal for both the intended use and the site for installation. That is why you can find many devices on the net that use the same principle, but differ in performance.

Drawing of a pipe bender with radial action on the workpiece

One of the designs allows for radial bending of rectangular shaped tubes by using two rollers, one of which is movable, and the other is support (guide). Deformation of the workpiece along the required radius is carried out by pressing and moving the working roller around the guide. The device body is made of steel sheet up to 8 mm thick and metal corners. To avoid involuntary displacement of the workpiece, before bending it is clamped between a stationary roller and a specially installed stop.

Homemade rolling machine for bending profile pipes

A more versatile machine is of the rolling type, the design of which is described above.

In addition, there are other, truly simple designs that allow you to bend pipes according to a template. Unfortunately, the quality and accuracy of the deformation performed leaves much to be desired, and to obtain a different radius, you will have to make a new template.

Fittings for bending pipes according to the template

When making a manual machine, some points should be taken into account:

• so that the profile bender does not tip over when bending oversized workpieces, its frame is made stable and massive. The best material for manufacturing can be considered a channel or I-beam;
• the rolls of the machine must have a low roughness and increased hardness. It is better if their configuration will follow the shape of the profiles of the most used sizes;
• the design of the housing must ensure a change in the distance between the axes of the drive shafts. The increased distance will allow rolling workpieces with a large cross-section, then with a decrease in the center distance, it will be possible to obtain bends of a small radius;
• the drive lever must be able to rotate easily during operation, so it should not be made too short.

Most of the joints in the manufacture of profile bending are performed using a welding machine. Nevertheless, it will not be possible to completely do without bolted connections - the movable structural elements are fastened in this way.

Making a rolling structure with your own hands

For self-production, we recommend using the most common design of a roll forming machine with two lower shafts and a pressure roller. The easiest way is to install a manual drive on the unit, which, if necessary, can be easily converted into an electric one.

Device drawings

As already mentioned, it is better to design the profile bender yourself, based on your own conditions and preferences. In work, you can be guided by the drawings of the machines, which the craftsmen who made them are happy to share.

Assembly instructions

1. Manufacturing of drive (support) shafts and a roller. It is better to entrust this work to a turner, after which the parts must be hardened.

   The production of shafts and support rings will have to be entrusted to a turner

   It is possible to produce cylindrical rollers without grooves for shaped pipes. In this case, two stop rings are made for each shaft. These cylindrical nozzles are set taking into account the width of the workpiece and fixed with bolts.

2. The bearings are installed in the cages. If it is not possible to use factory parts, then they can also be turned on a lathe.

   Shaft supports with mounted bearings

3. Asterisks are tried on on the shafts and the location of the keyways is determined. The keyways can be cut with a drill and a file or a dremel.

   The keyway can be made with a drill

4. Holes are drilled in the restraint nozzles and threads are cut for the clamping bolts.

   Thread for fixing stop rings

5. A platform is made for installing the pressure roller. To do this, take a thick metal plate or channel, in which two pairs of holes are drilled for attaching the cages with bearings. In addition, a hydraulic jack will be installed on the reverse side, so in some cases you will have to cut one shelf of the channel.

   Upper roller support platform

6. The pressure shaft is screwed on and the lugs made of M8 nuts for fastening the springs are welded to the platform.
7. With the help of welding equipment, support legs and a frame are made. Special attention should be given to that part of the body in which the support platform of the upper roller will be located. The corners that will form it must be even, and during their installation, the geometry must be carefully observed using measuring equipment.

   Bed with installed upper roller platform

8. The platform with the installed roller is suspended on springs from the upper cross member of the bed.

   

Preparing the instrument is half the battle. This truth is good if the master has a ready-made instrument. However, if in the course of work you may suddenly need something more complicated than a screwdriver and a hammer, then you often have to invent real machines on the fly to perform complex functions. A striking example of such a machine is a listogib necessary when working with metal sheets.

During many works with sheet metal, for example, in roofing work, it is often necessary to bend metal sheets, including those with a different coating. If necessary, bend a small sheet, this work can be done using hammers, mallets, pliers.

The result will be disastrous - a curved, jagged surface, a scratched coating, a curved fold line will not allow all the work to be done qualitatively, and will not bring aesthetic pleasure to the owner. It is generally impossible to bend a sheet of large size and, moreover, a complex shape with such tools.

For such work, it is necessary to use rather sophisticated equipment - a listogib. You can buy a ready-made manual machine, like the one shown in the photo, produced by a well-known manufacturer. However, this will entail additional, very significant, costs, which will lead to an increase in the cost of all work. A cheaper way to purchase such a machine is to make a homemade sheet bending machine with your own hands. For a person who is familiar with manual labor, who knows how to handle other tools, this will not pose any particular problems.

Device

It will be problematic to independently invent such a machine, even for a person who is well acquainted with the basics of strength materials. However, in the era of the Internet, no one needs inventions in this area - drawings and a description of how to make a do-it-yourself bending machine can be easily found on the corresponding sites.

The main parts of the bending machine shown in the drawing are:

• Base - a surface designed for mounting the rest of the equipment and fixing the workpiece. Manufactured from steel channel. The sizes are selected depending on the size of the metal sheets, the processing of which is planned;
• Clamp - a device that allows you to bend a sheet. In a conventional device, the fold angle does not exceed 90 degrees. It is made of a steel angle, installed on the bed with the top up. For ease of installation, another corner of the same is welded to it, as shown in the drawing. The length of the clamp should be slightly less than the length of the base, in order to ensure its reliable attachment and smooth functioning. Attached to the base with clamping bolts;
• Crimping punch is a construction made of a steel angle with a metal handle welded to it, which allows bending the sheet. The punch axis must be aligned with the corner edge. A steel bar is used as the axis.

The dimensions of the parts indicated in the drawing may vary, depending on the field of application of the machine.

Assembly

The assembly of a homemade listogib, shown in the video, begins with fixing the base and punch with a clamp. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the surface of the base and the working surface of the punch are in the same plane. The punch axis is threaded through holes in metal plates called cheeks, which are welded to the ends of the base. The axle is attached to the cheeks by welding or screwed with nuts.

The exact position of the clamp is determined after several trial folds. Having drilled holes in the base, we attach the clamp to the base using the clamping bolts. The nut, for fastening the bolts, is welded to the base, which makes it possible, if necessary, to easily install or remove the clamp, using only one nut on each bolt, which can be replaced with a wrench.

Work

Thus, do-it-yourself manual sheet bending drawings allow you to assemble a device, the operation of which is shown in the video. The order of work is as follows:

1. The punch is brought to a position in which its working surface is set in the same plane with the base surface. The punch handle in this position is directed vertically downward;
2. The clamp is removed from the base;
3. A blank is laid on the base - a metal sheet, the width of which corresponds to the distance between the clamping bolts;
4. The clamp is installed on the base and secured with clamping bolts;
5. With the help of the handle, the punch is set in motion and firmly presses the sheet against the clamp. In this case, the sheet is bent at the desired angle around the punch axis. The handle is positioned at a 45 degree angle to the base surface.

The result is a sheet of metal with a straight fold line.

Application and benefits

Manual listogib is used when it is necessary to carry out any work related to bending metal sheets: the manufacture of metal casings, housings, decorative work. It is good to have such a device in the country, in the garage.It may be needed by a private entrepreneur engaged in the processing of metals and the manufacture of metal products in small quantities.

The main advantage of such a machine is its mobility, small size, relative simplicity of the device and assembly. An indisputable advantage is the ability to use it in the absence of electricity. Such a device allows you to bend any sheet of metal that is suitable in size, while maintaining the evenness of its surface, without damaging the sheet coating, if any.

disadvantages

With all the advantages, a homemade listogib also has disadvantages, which are, first of all, in safety. The manufacture of such a device requires the use of welding equipment, the handling of which requires certain skills and compliance with safety requirements. Poor-quality welding can not only lead to a fire during its implementation, but also cause poor-quality operation of the device itself.

Many craftsmen do not even imagine how much money they could save, and therefore earn on the independent production of elements from sheet steel. For example, roof details: ridges, planks, valleys, gutters. They are many times more expensive than the material from which they are made. We start to save money by making a regular manual bending machine.

1 Sheet bending tools - buy or make?

A tool with which sheets of metal will turn into parts of the desired shapes can be easily built in a barn or garage, with a minimum of tools and very little free time. But rest assured - it will become a "workhorse", without which none of your undertakings related to sheet material can do. Spoiled by the abundance of tools, many will ask themselves a completely natural question - why do it, if you can buy it?

What will be your surprise if it turns out that a homemade tool can be much more convenient and efficient than a factory one. In practice, this happens very often. Firstly, most of the units are designed for bending sheets up to 3 m wide - you must admit that the dimensions of such an unit will make even the owner of a large garage or workshop think. Secondly, the price of the finished tool can significantly hit the master's budget.

The mechanical drive, which many factory bending machines are equipped with, is inconvenient for delicate work - at the beginning of the working stroke, the mechanic gives out a sharp blow, which weakens towards the end, but for bending the process must be reversed. In addition, energy costs do not pay off if the size of the part is small. The hydraulic drive is more convenient - it knows how to adjust its force to the resistance provided. However, such tools are very expensive and complicated, it is irrational to buy them even for constant work in small volumes.

Remains a manual drive. You yourself can adjust the effort and distribute it in the work. Hand tools are completely easy to operate and maintain, and can bend sheet steel workpieces as well as mechanics and hydraulics. The traditional mallet and mandrel are a thing of the past - no matter how skillful the master is, he will not be able to bend the required part of the sheet with these tools without deforming it, and it will take much more time. Draw your own conclusions.

2 Machine-bending machine in half an hour (for small jobs)

On the Internet, you can find homemade manual bending machines in a variety of options, detailed drawings and explanations are attached to them, so the question of how to make a bending machine with your own hands is solved very quickly. If you understand and summarize all the drawings, homemade a press brake consists of three main parts: a clamp, a crimping punch with a lever handle and a base... Who said that they should be strictly metal? The simplest compact bending machine can be made of wood - ideal for garage work, when you need to bend a small piece of aluminum or iron sheet of small thickness.

It is best to use hard wood for such a tool, but if this is not at hand, then you can use ordinary pine.

You can strengthen it with the same sheets of metal or corners. You will need a few sturdy loops - with their help, the bending link of the tool will move. If you decide to make the bending link large enough, then you hardly need to attach an additional frame to create the necessary pressure on the metal sheet.

It is recommended that the crimp punch be secured to the base with wing nuts, and do not forget to substitute washers under them. If you have to work with sheets of metal of different thicknesses, you can make several punches with grooves of different thicknesses. To get a 90 ° bend, the surface that limits the range of the bending element is best done with a slight slope (at least 5 °), otherwise it will not be possible to get a right angle. If the bend turns out to be inaccurate, it is recommended to make a guide cut in the place of the bend.

3 Manual do-it-yourself bending machines - we use drawings

A tool with decent dimensions for processing large sheets of metal is best made from corners and channels. In addition to the material, you will need a welding machine. The design is generally the same as that of wooden tool: base, clamp, crimping punch - only different scales. For the base, a section of channel No. 6.5 or No. 8 is best suited. The clamp is also made from a channel, No. 5 is best, but the punch is from corner No. 5, and the thicker the walls, the better. The punch and clamp should be made slightly shorter than the base - a 5 mm difference is sufficient. In the clamp strictly along the axis, stepping back 30 centimeters from the ends, holes are drilled for the bolts.

From the reinforcement with a diameter of at least 15 mm, bend the bracket-shaped lever handle, which is welded to the corners with two ends. It remains to complete the structure with cheeks made of sheet steel 5 mm thick, and the structure is ready. Be sure to remove the 30mm 7 * 45 ° chamfers at the ends of the punch and base blanks. Chamfers are removed along the edge so that it is convenient to weld the axles from a steel 10 mm rod to the punch. You need to weld the rod so that its axis coincides with the edge of the corner.

Before you weld the cheeks, you must carefully align their location. For this, a preliminary assembly is performed - the punch and the base are clamped in a vice so that the working area of ​​the corner-punch and the wall of the channel-base are in the same plane, but a gap of about 1 mm remains between them. To do this, it is enough to install a cardboard gasket. After that, the cheeks are put on the punch axis and gently welded in several places. Then a test bending of thin sheet metal is carried out, during which the position of the cheeks relative to the base is corrected. After that, these elements are finally welded to the ends of the base.

Using the prepared holes as guides, drill holes with a maximum diameter of 8.5 mm in the base and cut M10 threads. Clamping bolts are screwed into it, onto which they are screwed on and immediately welded to the base of the nut. After that, the fasteners are unscrewed and inserted into the hold-down holes widened to 10.5 mm, and the stop nuts are screwed on them from below and fixed by welding. For ease of use, provide the heads of the bolts with "thumbs" or install the wrenches.

Many people advise to level the clamp with a file or even a grinder. For home use of the tool - maybe, but not for daily work, when your earnings depend on the quality of work. Permissible unevenness on the pressure plane - no more than 0.2 mm. Is it possible to achieve such an indicator on the entire surface of the part with a file? But with large roughness, the sheet will "flow" under pressure - it will form waves. Therefore, you need to give the part only for milling. Moreover, only after all the details were welded and assembled, when everything that could go unevenly and tell has already happened. Then the router can really help you align.

When using the tool, remember that bending sheet metal with a thickness of 10 mm or more requires special conditions and tools. If possible, heat the metal in places of bend - this will facilitate the work and reduce the likelihood of cracks and traces of deformation.

It is not so difficult to make a bending machine with your own hands, but craftsmen, both amateur home-made and self-employed individual entrepreneurs, use it a little so far. Meanwhile, the price of only ready-made additional elements of the roof - valleys, ridge, cornice strips - and downpipes with gutters is several times higher than the cost of the material. The same applies to paintings (roofing sheets, quite ready for laying) with flanged edges for double seam. And that's just roofing work.

Meanwhile, many craftsmen still prefer to either buy finished parts, losing in earnings, or in the old fashioned way do with a drift, losing potential customers - modern products should not have a finished look. What's wrong here: economics, technology, prejudice? Or maybe just ignorance? Maybe you just need a clear drawing of the bending machine, which you could build yourself in the shed, and use it for a long time and successfully? Let's try to figure it out.

Of the main indicators (efficiency, productivity, simplicity of design), it is necessary to determine more durability, provided a stable result of work. At the height of the season, when the day feeds the year, there is no time to tinker with repairs or adjustments, and with occasional use once a month, not every month you can do without special equipment at all, see below.

Minimum requirements - from a jack of all trades, who is engaged in roofing and tin work from time to time in the presence of orders; it is unprofitable for such to buy a machine of industrial production, it will not pay off. But then a home-made listogib must withstand at least 1200-1500 working cycles per season without deteriorating the quality of bending. There is another important point - corrugated board. More precisely, its independent production. It is worth touching on especially.

Qui prodest?

Translated from Latin - who benefits? To produce corrugated board on your own, at least for yourself, the material is very much in demand. Let's try to figure it out.

A pass-through manual bending machine (see below) costs about $ 2000. It seems to be possible on it in a day or two a ton of galvanized 0.55 worth $ 1000 to be turned into 250 sq. m of corrugated board, which purchased would have cost $ 1400. Seemingly a direct benefit; especially if you don't wait for a sale (the market is overflowing with offers), but start it up yourself. So, but not so.

The corrugated board is not rolled in one pass - the corners in places are overtightened. Intercrystalline bonds in the metal are broken; by sight and by touch, a rough bend is not always determined, but soon a crack will creep from it. And who will give an order now without a guarantee? Please correct. For their own, of course.

You can reduce the pressure, but then the wave will go non-standard. The customer of the standards, perhaps, does not know, but he will immediately see that the material is not the same. Put it, be kind, like everyone else, or - goodbye, I'll turn to another. And I'll tell my friends and acquaintances. Drive each sheet in several passes, changing the pressure or rollers? What kind of performance is there with profitability.

A line (in fact, a rolling mill) for corrugated board is a complex unit, see fig. Pay attention to the number and configuration of rolls. The purpose of such a system is to accelerate the residual stresses along the sheet so that they do not go beyond the permissible limits. Therefore, the wave is formed gradually.

Such equipment costs at least $ 20,000, made in China. The stable quality of finished products is guaranteed only for specific steel grades of a specific manufacturer. Power consumption - from 12 kW. Those. you need a specialized production area with an appropriate limit for electricity consumption and, although one operator is enough to service. Is there an unsatisfied demand for corrugated board in your operating area (simply - in the neighborhoods accessible to you), which allows you to recoup all this within an acceptable time frame? And are you ready to start a very serious business with fierce competition?

Note to masters

It is, of course, not easy for an individual master to “beat off” $ 2000. Therefore, let's try to figure out how to make the bending machine yourself. Not for corrugated board, but for a variety of roofing and tin works, on which you can also live well, and collect some money to start something more serious. Non-standard trifle fundamentally does not lend itself to unification, but is always needed. And a homemade listogib can be a very good help here.

About purchased handbrakes

To put an end to the "firm" (not an advertising article) and move on to homemade products, let's take a quick look at what you can buy, if you still need it. The market is clearly dominated by TAPCO and VanMark. And the domestic SKS-2, produced in Orsk, is almost unknown. For the price, all are about the same; the width of the working area for ours is 2.5 m against 3 for foreigners, but this is not a vice. 3 m are designed for inches (10 feet = 3.05 m), and 2.5 m is just more convenient in metric.

But the Uralets is of the through type; you can, for example, pull gutters up to 90x90 mm. Raising / lowering the crosshead - eccentrics, no need to turn the flywheels. Supplied with a cut-off knife. User reviews are not just favorable, enthusiastic. The general tone is "an irreplaceable hard worker."

History repeats itself. Nikita Khrushchev spoke about such situations live on CT after his trip to America (this was when he beat a shoe on the UN rostrum with a shoe and threatened to arrange Kuzka's mother for everyone). They say that in the States they know how to sell any obscene rubbish, but in our country they cannot properly submit the necessary good things.

Listogib constructions

Drive unit

Bending and pressing equipment with a mechanical drive (a flywheel with a clutch and a crank or a falling weight with a system of blocks, cables and levers) has a high efficiency, but it is still a thing of the past. The mechanics give a sharp impulse (impact) at the beginning of the working stroke, and by the end it weakens. For bending / pressing, just the opposite is needed.

The efficiency of the electric drive decreases rapidly with decreasing dimensions of the workpiece. To mold the corrugated board on the mill described above, 12 kW is enough. To make a flanging on a roof picture, you will not do less than 1.5-2 kW. The fact is that the external characteristic of AC electric motors (except for three-phase with a phase rotor - complex, expensive, requiring regular maintenance) is quite tough. Due to the resistance of the bending metal, the engine does not increase the moment on the shaft, but on the contrary, the slip of the rotor increases and the moment decreases. And the power consumption increases.

The hydraulic drive, in theory, is ideal - the hydraulic cylinder itself automatically adjusts its force to the resistance of the part. But precision hydraulic systems are complex and expensive. An experienced designer will not undertake to distribute the effort of, say, a car jack evenly along the entire length of a meter bend, as well as synchronize the work of two or more with improvised means.

Remains a "handbrake", and it's not so bad. If we construct a listogib so that, as in swing rowing or powerlifting, the strongest and most enduring muscles (biceps, broadest backs, thighs, calves) work, and the reaction (recoil) of the machine presses the feet to the floor, then the work, due to its cyclicity, does not will be exhausting. But a skill will be developed that will give accuracy and productivity.

For example: an average person running up a flight of stairs can develop a power of about 1 hp within 1-2 seconds. But already on the third flight, the muscles will switch from oxygen to glycogen, lactic acid will begin to be released, and fatigue will hit the body. You need to take a break in order to dash on.

Sports Notes: the rowers are lean, because the "kendyukh" interferes with giving full signal from the body. But for weightlifters, "callus", on the contrary, helps to maintain balance during the snatch. But the work of the muscles in both is in many ways similar.

Schemes and purpose

Listogib is a rather general concept. The listogib device depends on its purpose. According to the nature of the work, you need to choose a homemade scheme, see fig.

At pos. A - a method familiar to everyone who has done even a little locksmithing. So you can simply bend sheets up to 0.5 m wide with your hands. If the bending length is not more than 200-250 mm, then the base can be not attached to the workbench, but together with the pressure beam and the part, clamp it in a vice. The bend turns out to be good if the traverse is leaned more at the bottom, as shown in the force diagram, and fed slightly forward, as if smoothing the bend. On this principle, most of the designs of homemade bending machines are based; we'll get there yet.

Due to the elasticity of the metal, it will not be possible to bend the sheet exactly at 90 degrees, therefore, spacers from a strip of metal are used, as shown in the inset. Why are there channels on the cut, and not corners? Let us consider this issue further; an elementary-looking design has significant nuances.

Pos. B shows how a press brake works. Press like a press: bed-die-punch-hydraulics-blow-done. They are used only in industrial production with a developed labor protection system: they are complex, expensive, require qualified care and are extremely traumatic. A sheet that has slipped out from improper refueling or equipment malfunction can cut off a person's hand or head.

At pos. B - extended (through) listogib. By changing the relative position of the rolls, you can set the bending radius of the sheet. Pass-through bending machine can be either manual or electric. Commercially available, as a rule, they are multifunctional:

1. Smooth rolls are intended for tinsmith work - bending of blanks of shell shells, sections of wide pipes, etc.
2. The rolls can be replaced with complete profiled sheet-bending rolls designed for broaching roofing elements - ridge, valley, gutters and flanges.
3. Also, many models are equipped with a support, a clamp and a traverse for manual bending of sheets.

These are the benders that sell for $ 2,000 or so. Many are completed, or later can be purchased, with shaped rollers for corrugated board, but, as already discussed, it is impossible to "drive the shaft" for sale on them. You can roll a piece if you need it right now, but buy whole sheet there's no point.

Note: there is another interesting type of bending device, but due to its high utility and relatively low cost, a separate section will be devoted to it.

We take on the bending machine

Let's start making our own bending machine with the development of the simplest specifications. And we will calculate the latter, in addition to the criteria of longevity described above, based on the expenditure of muscular energy, which an average adult man is able to give day after day without deteriorating well-being. Of course, the simplicity and low cost of the design is also not in the last place. Also, the machine by weight and dimensions must allow transportation in a passenger car and use directly at the place of work. It turns out:

• The width of the folded sheet is up to 1 m.
• Bending sheet thickness - galvanized up to 0.6 mm; up to 0.7 mm aluminum and up to 1 mm copper.
• The number of working cycles without readjustment and / or repair is not less than 1200.
• Bending angle - not less than 120 degrees without manual adjustment; so it is necessary for the folds.
• The use of special steels or non-standard workpieces is highly undesirable.
• Welding - as little as possible; parts / prefabricated units lead from it, and the welded seams are fragile and quickly get tired from alternating loads.
• Metalworking on the side (turning, milling) - also as little as possible, it costs money.

Let's put it bluntly: drawings of finished structures that meet all these requirements are not found in publicly available sources. We will try to improve one, widely known, and, in principle, very successful.

We bring to mind

Incision

The principle of the device of this listogib is clearly visible in the section (see the figure on the right and the list of positions). Its main advantage is good ergonomics. With such a working stroke, the muscles work as they should, and the feet are pressed to the floor, which will give a stable result even with an inexperienced operator. And the maximum bending angle is 135 degrees, which with a large margin for any conceivable and inconceivable elasticity of the folded sheet.

1. wooden pillow;
2. support beam - channel 100-120 mm;
3. cheek - from a sheet of 6-8 mm;
4. work piece;
5. clamping beam (clamp) - welded from 80 and 60 mm corners;
6. traverse axis - pin 10 mm;
7. swivel traverse - angle (?) 80-100 mm;
8. handle - a bar of 10 mm.

All parts are made of ordinary structural steel. But already here it is conventionally shown that it is better to replace the traverse from the corner with a channel of the same standard size. Why? Let's figure it out in more detail, this is important for what follows.

The reaction (recoil) from the folded sheet to the traverse (and the clamp, but more on it) is uneven in width. In the middle, where every elementary (tiny; this is a hint of differentiation and integration) section of the metal is surrounded on all sides by the same metal, it is maximal. At the edges, where there is no side support, it is minimal.

The second point is that the sheet, although thin, is of finite thickness. Stresses in the workpiece will spread, reflect on the edges. As a result of the diagrams of the load on the traverse and the clamp, it will take the form of a bow with a bowstring. On the free (distant) edges of the corner shelves, such a load will give a tensile force, and the metal does not work well in tension - it quickly gets tired of it. The home-builder who built such a machine soon discovers that the corner in the middle is bent and the fold in the middle is swollen.

The side shelves of the channel are wedge-shaped, and there are fillets more developed in it than in the inner corner of the corner. This, firstly, smoothes the diagram - the bow-string is barely stretched. Secondly, the seemingly superfluous side shelf of the channel absorbs tensile stresses, which are converted into compression at its free edge. And the metal holds the compression - wow!

The result of the calculation is impressive: if the traverse from the corner can withstand at least a couple of hundred bends, then the channel of the same width is more than 1200! What is 200 flexible? One or more roofs at best. At the height of the season, when customers are queuing up, the machine deteriorates, and - the work has begun. And 1200 operations means that the season will survive. In winter, there will be time to adjust, or replace the traverse, or, having calculated the proceeds, buy a “firm” with a resource guarantee.

Detailing

In the next figure, there is already a detailing with a list of positions. Here, not only do you need to eliminate some shortcomings, but you can also improve something further.

1. clamp - corner 40-60 mm; screw М8-М10 with a knob and a heel;
2. cheek;
3. support beam;
4. bracket - corner 110 mm;
5. pressure beam;
6. traverse axis;
7. traverse.

Pressure beam

First of all - about milling the lower surface of the clamp on the plane. It is needed for any of its designs, and the permissible unevenness is no more than half the thickness of the sheet being bent (minimum! Let's consider it equal to 0.2 mm). Otherwise, the sheet under pressure will creep (flow) - and again a pot-bellied fold.

So anyone who has ever done something for metal himself, advice to iron the clamp with a file or grinder will only cause a grin. You need to give it to milling. Moreover, AFTER welding the entire unit, when everything that could have happened has already happened. Otherwise, the work and payment of the milling cutter will be wasted.

Further, everything that has been said above about the load on the traverse is also true for the clamp. And the most loaded part of it - the leading edge - is not supported by anything. It is impossible to reinforce or replace the entire assembly from the corner with a channel: the bend angle will turn out to be no more than 90 degrees.

As a result, after the same 100-200 operations, the machine will "open its mouth" (or "smile" if you prefer white rather than black humor) and - the same swollen bend. The clamp will not bend up; in this respect it is well fortified. But the metal on the leading edge will simply flow from fatigue.

The section of the clamp structure, equal to the traverse in terms of durability, is shown in the sidebar at the top right. The basis is a steel strip 16x80 mm. The leading edge is milled at 45 degrees, and a chamfer is removed on the same milling cutter for at least 2.5-3 MAXIMUM thicknesses of the bent steel sheet, i.e. 1.5-2 mm. From the upward deflection, the clamp is reinforced with a sixty angle on welding. Milling, again, after all welding work.

The idea is this: if in the previous design the leading edge works half for bending (which is even worse for metal than stretching), then in the new one it works only for compression. At the same time, the general support on the edge will prevent it from flowing soon.

Note: if an ancient lathe is found somewhere in a landfill nearby, the problem of a crosshead with a clamp is solved once and for all. From the bed, you can cut pieces of the desired configuration, made of special steel and excellent accuracy.

In terms of the number of working steps for manufacturing, both clamps are equivalent: cutting, drilling, welding, milling. The material consumption of the new clamp is higher than that of the old one; standard sizes of workpieces for both require three. But the ratio of durability is the same as for the two types of traverses described above.

Mount to table

The next moment is the clamps. The author of the design, of course, clearly understands the role of stiffeners, but the fragility and rapid fatigue of welded seams seems to have been overlooked. And the working stroke of the traverse gives a variable tensile force on the clamps with the lever arms of 10: 1 or more. If the clamp breaks, the work is over, if only everything else remains perfectly flat. The machine will lift itself, not bend.

Why not give up the clamps at all? And then cheeks will not be needed, and welding for both. How to do it?

• Extend the support beam to the sides outside the table.
• Select U-lugs at its ends.
• Fasten to the table with M10 bolts with shaped nuts - paws.

The second option is the holes in the feet without thread. The bolts are turned over and tightened with wing nuts. A little more expensive, but more convenient to work with.

Fastening the traverse

Here the question arises: how to fix the traverse, since the cheeks are gone? And they are not needed. Firstly, the structure turns out to be non-separable, and the traverse will have to be changed once a year. Secondly, remember that we need an accuracy of the order of 0.1 mm, otherwise the fold will bulge. How soon will the pin break a simple "hole" in the cheek by a large amount? The question is rhetorical. And at the same time I apologize to my fellow engineers: I, of course, know that a hole is somewhere in someone's, and in metalworking there is a hole.

But how, then, to fix the traverse? Butterfly door hinges; bottom right inset in Fig. They do not require inserts (they were invented specifically for metal doors), and two such hinges hold the door, armored from a line from a "Kalash" or an F-1 grenade. To put one like this, you need six healthy men.

In terms of accuracy, most butterfly loops easily pass the check test. If you quickly open the loop, then you can hear a smacking sound from the air vacuum replacing the vacuum formed when the pin is pulled out. That is, the fit of the parts is very tight, but rotates easily.

Butterflies are fastened with countersunk screws. If you put it on an iron red lead, the traverse will stand indestructible. The opening angle is 160 degrees. Probably, the inventor of butterfly loops once made a homemade listogib. This is a joke.

Assembly

Finally, before you is the complete sheet bending machine:

1. support beam;
2. threaded (M10) flywheel;
3. pressure beam;
4. processed sheet;
5. clamp (see previous);
6. traverse.

There is just one point to make here. Perhaps the author of the design had flywheel nuts lying somewhere in the storehouse, that's why he put it. In fact, the clamp, in order to put the next sheet, will have to be raised by only 2-3 mm. Well, 30 mm, if you need to take out a picture with a fold already formed on the other side. Do you remember the M10 thread pitch? That is, you do not need to turn the flywheels for a long time, like a cannon when aiming. Lamb nuts or even conventional welded knobs are enough.

Note: after welding the knobs, it is imperative to drive the thread "to the full" - by holding the nut in a vice, and with the first and then the second tap, or with a single-pass machine. From welding, the thread leads so that oh ...

Video: an example of a ready-made homemade listogib

Zig machine

The Zig Machine is, of course, not a robot in the form of a screaming Hitler with an outstretched hand. A beading machine (see fig.) Or a beading machine is a device for beading, or beading. And beading - pulling flanges or special potholes - beads on sheet metal blanks. Have you seen the stiffening sides on buckets and basins? This is the ridge. For the sake of brevity, cars themselves are also often called zigovy

Creasing machines, as follows from the definition, also belong to the category of sheet-bending equipment, only special. They are electric or manual. The latter are desktop stationary (in the figure) or portable (mobile), with a clamp. These can be carried with you in your tool bag.

Zigmashina is an irreplaceable assistant in tin and roofing works. You can bend not only round blanks of shells, but also sheets. Try to make a fold under the already mentioned double fold on the best manual bending machine. Such a beading is obtained in one pass; with some skill - right on the roof. What else can be obtained by beading using standard pairs of rollers can be seen in the following figure. Letter designations are standard; they correspond to the type of operation being performed. A bending is worth three or five times, or even ten times cheaper than a factory manual bending machine.

Video: working on a zig machine

What to whom?

Let's summarize - which listogib is best for whom:

• For an amateur home-builder - bending with improvised means, as described, or home-made manual, if there is a supply of scrap metal and a desire to tinker.
• To a generalist for a running-in, who from time to time receives orders for a tin or a roof - a homemade manual like the one described, plus, if there is some surplus of funds - a zygmashinka.
• For a roofer or a tinsmith - a professional with a steady flow of orders - a branded manual with a zigmachine.
• For the mass production of corrugated board, standard roof elements or sheet metal structures - specialized industrial equipment for the corresponding purpose.

A final note: for stable results of work with a dense flow of orders, you still should not rely on a home-made sheet bending machine - the metal in the structure is not the same, it will soon float from fatigue.

(1 estimates, average: 4,00 out of 5)