Metal bending to create prototypes and small and medium series

Metal bending is one of the most common and precise processes to obtain semi-finished or finished products. Minifaber has more than ten years of experience in steel, aluminum, copper bending and the bending of other metals for different industrial sectors: including electromechanical, medical, kitchen robotics, and ice cream machines.

Metal bending is a cold working process that makes bends in sheet metal as required by the customer's drawing. This is how Minifaber does it.

High-tech metal bending

Metal bending requires the use of a bending machine or a paneling machine and allows to obtain panels, bent metal sheets starting from flat semi-finished products.

Minifaber has 7 metal bending machines and a paneling machine. These are technologically advanced, state-of-the-art CNC programmable machines for bending the following metals with maximum precision:

• aluminum and its alloys
• stainless steel
• ferrous materials
• copper and its alloys

The bending machine

Bending metal with a bending machine is one of the most precise, simple and economical ways to make prototypes and batches, even in very small series; in essence, the sheet metal is pushed by a blade into a V-shaped profile groove, within which the bend is made on the piece.

Metal bending can be of three different types:

• air bending - the sheet metal is placed on two supports and deformed by the punch, which does not reach the bottom of the groove. In this way the natural springback of the material is controlled
• coining – Just at the air bending process, the sheet metal is placed on two supports, but in this case the punch, or blade, arrives at the bottom of the groove, also known as the matrix. In this way, the bending angle is repetitive on all the pieces produced
• Crushing - is used to remove the sharp edges of the workpiece, creating a double radiused thickness on the sheet metal

The use of programmable bending machines makes it possible to govern the inevitable springback after bending. The amplitude of the springback depends on the nature of the metal, its hardness and its elasticity.

The paneling machine

Metal bending using a paneling machine is ideal for parts that need to be bent on all four corners with complex and different bends.

In this case, the sheet metal is placed on a work surface and is clamped by the machine's sheet press while a tool bends the part.

Minifaber’s metal bending service

Everything starts with an in-depth analysis of the project together with the client. Once we understand the specific requirements and the final application of the piece, we then proceed to sheet metal bending, outlining the best strategy to achieve a flawless result. This also involves identifying the most suitable machine to achieve the goal.

Industries we work for

We offer a metal bending services for the various industries including:

• electro-mechanic
• kitchen appliance and robotics
• vending
• professional light engineering
• medical
• gas distribution

Metal bending and more

Metal bending is just one of the services we provide at Minifaber. In fact, since 1960, we have specialized in cold metalworking, such as:

• shearing
• drawing
• sheet metal hydroforming
• punching
• creation of parts from moulds, pitches, and transfers
• 2D and 3D laser cutting
• soldering: Laser-MIG/MAG-CMT-TIG-Resistance-capacitor discharge
• assembly of metallic parts
• surface coatings and heat treatments of the metal parts we process