Making a Pan Brake "Folder with fingers" for home

[kiwibum]

Hi there. Thank you for providing the PDF version of this build. I have my order in at the metal profilers now (~$300NZ) and looking forward to putting this folder together. I'm using 10mm rather than 6mm cross angle in case I want to bend greater than 1.6mm sheet.

I noticed the pivot bolts on the clamping assembly are 8mm. Is there any advantage to using 10mm bolts here if anticipating to bend sheet greater than 1.6mm?

Thanks and have a great day.
Steve

[krisfarm]

kiwibum,
From memory I think you will not be able to fit 10 mm bolts as there is not enough clearance from the edge. This folder is OK for 1.2 Aluminium, at its limit for steel at 1.0mm. The fingers and the adjusters start to creep if you try to bend wide sections of heavy material. It is very handy for smaller widths and I found it a worthwhile addition to my shop.
Bob

[kiwibum]

Thanks Bob. I'll leave the bolts as they are then. I only need it for small stuff, I'm tired to bending things in a vice with a couple of bits of angle iron clamped in so this folder will make a nice addition to my little workshop. Thought I would make the cross clamping angle out of 10mm rather than 8mm just in case since it's an easy upgrade now for the one or two larger folds I use it for if the requirement comes along.

Thanks again for your reply.

[seafurymike]

Great effert there Simso,

I notice there were a couple of posts for laser cut part manufacturers, but no answers? An indicative price for the parts cut would also help people who wish to go down this path.

Rod, so this is what your up to when not CNC'ing!!! How do you get so many projects knocked over in a year.

/Michael

[rodm]

Hi Mike,
Wife works at night so plenty of free time to play. Simso is a mate and fellow CNC'er so it was natural that I made one of his folders. Worth doing if anyone is thinking about it.

With the price for steel climbing all the time a quote will only be good for a few months. This thread has been going for years so it might give a false impression on current costing.

[simso]

Glad to see people are still interested in this, firstly its a great thing to make for a test of your hand skills.

The size of the bolts were the largest I could use and still maintain a safe edge thickness without it tearing out

The weakness of this folder is the angle the fingers are on, the current angle is a compromise between max achievable fold angle and strength, put it this way if you altered the current build design and the finger angle to come down dead straight - 90 degrees that is it presses staright down, you would bend 2mm no problems, maybe more, but as you lay the fingers back to give a greater bend range the max bend material thickness capabilty dimineshes very quickly unless you reinforce the main bed plate and the bending arm

Rod is a master of neatness and accuracy, I made my first one up with a file and milling machine and it looked pretty rough but worked, then I remade some parts neater etc, Rod on his first go made a nicer / neater - more professional unit then you could buy of the shelf

[seafurymike]

Hey guys,

I'm having issues viewing the DXF files. Can I confirm the following files would be best suited for laser cutting. Square stock that requires some minor milling is fine for school work. (i go to trade school and have access to the bridgeports). I am looking to mill more complex geometric shapes and bits that require holes drilled in bar stock i'll do myself.

Clamping Assy ends.dxf
Folder End piece.dxf
Folder Foot End piece.dxf
Locking Assy canter lever.dxf
Lifting assy Brace.dxf

/Michael

[jatt]

Finally starting the build. A quick hunt around the shop found me some 16 mm plate (recon that will be fine for the ends), some decent length offcuts of 20 mm round, 25 x 50 mm strip and some 150 mm wide x 12 mm thick strip. Thinking I could change my dimensions for the ends from (184,70) to (184,68) to accommodate the 12 mm for the bed.

Wanna build this wider than 600mm so I figure some upsizing of the steel work will be in order.

Been thinking about running a single piece between the foot end pieces. This would allow me to put a middle support between the bed and base. The intention here is to further stiffen the bed assy. But its just that at present, a thought. Got a nice bit of 6mm plate thats gathering rust in the corner.

At present my pan folding is being done in the press, but of course there are limitations to what I can do here.

[WA Pete]

Awesome work gentlemen. Many thanks for the design. I have downloaded the instructions for when I will be good enough to start my own locomotive.

Pete

[kevcav]

Greetings all,

I wonder if there is Brisbane builder that has used a local laser cutter for the metal cutting and if so would they be prepared to share the name of cutter with me.

I need to build but unfortunately I am not well resourced with a engineering workshop.

Its a great project and my thanks to the originator for sharing

Regards

kevcav

[ironwingsent]

G'day to you. Found your web site and am interested in all that I see. Love the brake. I am in the process of looking for plans to build on of my own. just finishing up a "dusty" hammer (appalachian power hammer) and looking for another project. The brake is a must have. What is the capacity of this beast? I want to bend 14 guage about 26" long.

[krisfarm]

ironwingsent
This bender will not work for that gauge and length, it is OK for the lighter gauge steel material and short lengths of .080" aluminium.
Bob

[ironwingsent]

ironwingsent
This bender will not work for that gauge and length, it is OK for the lighter gauge steel material and short lengths of .080" aluminium.
Bob

Thanks for the info. will definately look for a heavier model.

[ironwingsent]

Thanks for the info. Will maybe try to remodel the plan a little to fit my app. I'm pretty fair at remodeling. will let you know how it turns out.

[Salvador]

Thanks Victor for sharing.

My own bender:

Dobladora de chapa - Mecánica, CNC y más...

I have post in my web photographs of Krisfarm and Rod benders, and the Victor files for downloading.