A press brake is one of the few machines in a fabrication shop that dictates what work you can quote for. Get the specification right and you open up jobs you have been turning away. Get it wrong and you have tied up serious capital in a machine that cannot do what you actually need.
Buying used makes a great deal of sense on a machine like this, provided you know what you are looking at. Here is what actually matters.
Tonnage is the force the machine can apply, and it is the first thing anyone asks about. But it is not simply a case of more being better.
What decides the tonnage you need is the thickness of material, its tensile strength, and the length of the bend. A short bend in thin sheet needs very little. A full length bend in heavy plate needs a great deal.
The mistake is buying for the job you do every day and forgetting the one you turn away twice a year. The second mistake is buying far more than you will ever use and paying for capacity that sits idle.
Work out the heaviest, longest bend you realistically want to be capable of, and buy for that with a sensible margin. A 150 ton machine covers a very wide range of structural and general fabrication work.
Bed length sets the longest part you can form in one hit. It is the constraint that quietly stops you quoting jobs.
Bear in mind you can bend a short part on a long bed, but you cannot bend a long part on a short one. Where there is a choice, the longer bed gives you more work you can take on.
A 3100mm bed handles most standard sheet sizes comfortably, which is why it is such a common and useful configuration.
This is where the real difference in productivity sits.
A manual or NC machine relies heavily on the operator. It will produce good work in skilled hands, but setting up is slower, repeatability depends on the man on the machine, and complex multi-bend parts take real time.
A CNC press brake stores programs, positions the backgauge automatically and repeats the same part accurately all day. If you are running batches, or making the same components again next month, that is where the time is saved.
The axis count tells you how much control you actually have. Y1 and Y2 control each end of the beam independently, which matters for accuracy across the bed. X is the backgauge depth. R is the backgauge height. Z1 and Z2 move the backgauge fingers laterally.
A six axis machine, Y1, Y2, X, R, Z1 and Z2, gives you proper control over complex components rather than just simple bends. That is the configuration to look for if your work is anything other than straightforward.
Under load, the bed and beam of a press brake deflect very slightly in the middle. On a long bend that shows up as an angle that is correct at the ends and out in the centre.
Crowning compensates for that deflection. Automatic crowning does it without the operator shimming or adjusting manually.
If you are producing long bends to a tolerance, this is not a luxury. It is the difference between a part that passes and one that comes back.
Any used press brake needs to be right on guarding before it earns a penny in your shop.
Look for a proper light guard system, such as an Erwin Sick machine-mounted setup, along with side and rear fences. It protects your operators, it stands up to scrutiny, and it saves you retrofitting a system afterwards at cost.
If a machine is being sold without adequate guarding, factor that into the price, because you will be adding it.
Buy from somebody who knows machine tools, will tell you honestly what the machine is, and will still answer the phone afterwards.
A quality used CNC press brake represents a substantial saving against a new equivalent, and you are not waiting months for delivery.
For a business looking to add capacity, replace an ageing machine or bring fabrication work back in-house rather than subcontracting it, that combination of price and availability is often what makes the investment work at all.
These are proven production machines. A well maintained press brake will run for decades.
Finance is available on all our machines, so the cost can be spread rather than taken in one hit.
A powerful, well equipped British-built machine currently in stock.
It suits structural steel and fabrication, commercial vehicle body building, general engineering, machinery manufacture, enclosures and cabinets, agricultural equipment, subcontract fabrication and architectural metalwork.
We hold a changing selection of new and used press brakes.
If you have a press brake, or any other machinery, that you need to move on, speak to us. One machine, several machines or a complete factory clearance, and we will give you a free no-obligation quotation.
Senior Machinery specialises in quality new and used machine tools: CNC press brakes, guillotine shears, plate and section bending rolls, CNC lasers and punches, saws, steelworkers, lathes, milling machines, grinders and more.
If you are not sure what specification you need, ring us and describe the work. We would rather sell you the right machine than the biggest one.
📞 07971 871254
📧 matt@seniormachinery.co.uk
🌐 seniormachinery.co.uk
Senior Machinery, buying and selling quality machine tools throughout the UK.
