SafanDarley’s 100 percent electric brakes are available from 20 to 300 tons and bed lengths are available between 1,250 and 4,100 mm.

Advances in electric brake technology, featuring belt and pulley systems in place of hydraulics, have expanded machine capacities, boosted accuracy by eliminating crowning, and doubled cycle speed.

New, faster technologies like the fibre laser are doubling the number of parts that can be cut per hour. That’s great for production, right? Maybe. It depends on whether or not the downstream processes can keep up. What about those pallets of WIP sitting in front of the press brake?

A half dozen years ago eliminating that bending bottleneck probably would have meant adding another piece of hydraulic equipment to the shop floor along with a dedicated operator. Today shop owners have an option that just might eliminate bending wait time, improve accuracy, reduce equipment maintenance, and save on ratcheting-up power costs. That option is going electric.

The E-Brake from Safan produces pressing force by the use of synchronized electric motors through belts and pulleys to the beam, eliminating the need for hydraulics. The absence of hydraulics means there are no seals or pressure valves that need to be replaced, resulting in less downtime and lower maintenance costs, the manufacturer states. Also, this press brake uses less energy than hydraulic machines because the motors operate only when the beam is actually moving.

This pulley-block system pulls the top beam of the press into the die and applies the pressing force evenly along the length of the machine. When rolling the belt up, the driving motor pulls the beam downward into the die. The return springs, strained during the bending procedure, return the beam to its initial position.

Pressing tonnages are available from 35 to 300, and bed lengths are available between 1,250 and 4,100 mm.

Depending on size and power requirements, the number of pulleys varies. The largest machine has four pulley-block arrangements each with their own drive and nine pairs of rolls. With this machine a 100 mm wide belt is used. The belts are 3 mm thick, wire-strengthened material coated with polyurethane.

In 98% of cases, a crowning table is not required for electronic press brakes. With much shorter cycle times, up to 50% lower energy use, lower maintenance costs, longer life span, optimum programmability, Touch Screen control and a high degree of environmental friendliness, the Safan E-Brake sets new standards of economy, ergonomics, efficiency and ecology. Wherever the machine has been installed, it has always reduced the cost per unit of product and increased efficiency.

For further details contact CML Machine Tools on TEL: 011 397 3650 or visit www.cmlmachines.co.za