Custom corrugated sheet steel panels for home DIY project. Brake job anyone?

[Peter Dow]

First unhelpul suggestions :naughty:

Aren't you rather assuming an even temper throughout the sheet to stop it bending like a banana?

I am assuming the press brake is a good press brake, well designed and strong enough and correctly adjusted and skilfully operated to make consistently straight bends to the same angle along the bend even if the sheet has slight variations in its properties across its area, yes. If there are unavoidable slight differences in sheet properties along the folds causing small differences in spring back across the length then so be it.

I just want the best that can be achieved and looking for someone with a good press brake who knows how to get the best results while I am ignoring the nay-sayers with no press brake or who are not offering to quote but who say "don't try 'cos it'll never be perfect".

Folding it with a press brake looks a bit labour intensive and fraught.

It is a labour intensive job indeed so I am thinking of things to make it easier for one operator to do, such as keeping the sheet light enough to be flipped over 1000+ times. Is a sheet weighing 7.5 Kg light enough for one man to manage do you think?

What else can be done, perhaps in the way of a table to slide the sheet onto for flipping over can be set up to make the job less tiresome?

Lining up for the next fold by pulling it back against the previous fold could be a bit cumulative error wise.

This problem has been mentioned to me from several other people but I think that if the press brake has side stop guides fitted and if they are used to keep the sheet aligned correctly then the bends can be kept square and parallel and accumulative errors can be prevented.

Now a suggestion...

It looks like it needs a custom machine to make it if you want to go commercial.

I'd suggest advancing the plate though a slot then pivoting two bending tools slightly behind the slot exit so one folds on the up stroke, one on the down.

The full 90 degrees would be tricky because there is more metal to spring back.

Lord only knows what shape it would come out, but it could be even with a bit of careful adjustment.

Cleverness would be required gripping it for the advance at sheets end.

This is purely off the top of my head so might be utter gibberish.

I am not going commercial. This is just 12 sheets for my own home DIY. Thanks anyway Robin.