Forming or Metal Forming is the metal working process of fashioning metal parts and certain plastic parts through mechanical deformation. The work piece is reshaped without adding or removing material and its mass remains unchanged. Forming operates on the materials science principle of plastic deformation, where the physical shape of a material is permanently deformed.
Bending is a manufacturing process that produces a V-shape, U-shape or channel shape along a straight axis inductile materials, most commonly sheet metal. ForTech utilizes box and pan brakes, brake presses both mechanical and hydraulic.
ForTech utilizes three types of bending on a press break, each is defined by the relationship of the end tool position to the thickness of the material. These three are air bending, bottoming and coining. The configuration of the tools for these three types of bending are nearly identical. A die with a long rail form tool with a radiused tip that locates the inside profile of the bend is called a punch. A die with a long rail form tool that has concave or “V” shaped lengthwise channel that locate the outside profile of the form is call a die.
ForTech owns a large array of standard punches and dies as well as custom tooling and urethane tooling to meet our customer’s needs. Customized tooling is commonly made in our machine shop. ForTech also utilizes State of the Art Computerized Software to assist in selecting the optimal tooling and bending sequence to achieve the job.
To determine what type of forming and bending best fits your requirements, contact us for a consultation.