Maybe a cheaper route to a corrugating die set can be had by modifying one of an press brake offset die pair?


Press brake offset dies (YouTube)
Video shows a press brake offset die pair being used to create an offset, joggle or narrow return bend in a sheet of metal.

The offset dies are not suitable for corrugating as they are off the shelf because if you try to make an offset bend pair too close to a previous offset bend pair the previous bends foul the tool.

Maybe though a simple modification by grinding or machining one of the offset dies would allow offset bends to be placed right next to each other, forming corrugations?

The Italian firm "Rolleri" have a catalogue of press brake dies and their range of offset dies is in handy 0.5 mm increment sizes of interest.



So selecting their 5.5 mm "CEZ 5,5" offset die as an example to plan a modification for, here could be the grinding or machining modification required for corrugating.



The basic idea is shown in this diagram with

  • the yellow colour indicating the position of the sheet and raised position of the standard offset die top tool before the press action, and
  • the purple colour indicating the new bend on the sheet and the position of the top tool when the press brake presses it down.


If modifying the Rolleri offset tools there would be a further problem with the descending sheet at 45 degrees not clearing bottom tool holder.



I suggest that this problem might be solved by soldering, brazing or welding a base to the bottom modified offset tool as shown here.



For wider sheets that I would like to have made, the fact that the sheet descends at 45 degrees at both the front and the back of the press brake could cause a problem of the sheet fouling some press brake's back-gauge, though perhaps that could be overcome by removing the back-gauge?

One other possibility might be to swap the top and bottom offset dies around and have the 45 degrees going upwards, though this would require a more difficult task to position the sheet for bending.