In an installing method for installing divided upper tools to upper tool holders disposed to be spaced at an appropriate interval in a left-right direction in a lower portion of an upper table of a press brake, by using a tool changer, a round bar-shaped finger provided in the tool changer is engaged in a circular engagement hole provided at a central portion in the lateral direction of each divided upper tool. The divided upper tool is temporarily positioned in a gap between an upper tool holder to which the divided upper tool is to be installed, and an adjacent upper tool holder. The temporarily positioned divided upper tool is moved in the left-right direction to be installed to the upper tool holder to which the divided upper tool is to be installed.

An upper tool stocker for detachably supporting a plurality of divided upper tools in a press brake includes a stocker main body extending in a left-right direction, and provided with a left-right directional installing groove, attachment portions provided in upper portions of the divided upper tools being detachably installed in the installing groove, wherein the stocker main body includes a front-back directional cutout communicated with the installing groove to remove the divided upper tools downward or in the front-back direction from the installing groove.

A tool for a press brake includes a tool main body, an attachment portion formed on a base end side (one end side) of the tool main body and configured to be detachably attached to a tool installation portion of the press brake by using a tool changer, and a bending portion formed on a tip side (the other end side) of the tool main body and used to bend a plate-shaped workpiece. At a correspondent position, in a lateral direction, in the tool main body to a gravity-center position (the gravity-center position of the tool), an engagement hole having a circular cross-sectional shape to be engaged with a bar-shaped finger of the tool changer extends in a thickness direction (a direction of a thickness of the tool).

A tool-changing unit for a production plant for forming sheet metal using a bending operation. The tool-changing unit includes a tool-holding device having a carrier body and a number n of tool-holding modules arranged directly next to one another and held on the carrier body. Each one of the tool-holding modules includes a first coupler and a first actuating device cooperating therewith as a component of a coupling device, wherein the first coupler can be brought into coupling engagement and out of coupling engagement with an individual clamping jaw of a clamping jaw set. Moreover, a production plant has the tool-changing unit and the clamping jaw a method changes tools.

A punch or die component for a press brake apparatus includes a tool body having a coupling end adapted for coupling with a holder, and a working end adapted for operation on a workpiece. One or more magnetic elements can be adapted for selective engagement of the punch or die component within a press apparatus by magnetic coupling with the tool body, where the working end is configured for forming the workpiece by operation of the press apparatus. The magnetic coupling can be defined between the tool body and holder disposed adjacent the coupling end, or between the tool body and an adjacent punch or die component disposed along a side surface of the tool body, or both.

A sheet metal bending machine comprises main bending tool assembly (2; 6) that extends along a longitudinal direction (A) and is movable so as to bend a workpiece (50), a guide (3) associated and parallel to the main bending tool assembly (2; 6), extending through a working zone (W) of the bending machine (1) and sideways protruding from the latter at least with a first end portion (4), and shuttles (21, 22, 23) slidably mounted on said guide (3) and supporting at least one auxiliary tool (41, 42) to be associated with the main bending tool assembly (2; 6) in order to execute partial bends on the workpiece (50); the shuttles (21, 22, 23) are movable along the longitudinal direction (A) between a first active position (P1), in which the shuttle (21, 22, 23) are inside the working zone (W) and the auxiliary tool (41, 42) is mounted on the main bending tool assembly (2; 6), and a first inactive position (R1), in which the shuttle (21, 22, 23) are outside the working zone (W) and positioned at the first end portion (4) of the guide (3); the shuttle comprise a first set (11) of shuttles (21, 22, 23), each shuttle (21, 22, 23) carrying a respective auxiliary tool (41, 42), said shuttles (21, 22, 23) being mutually connectable to form a first shuttle convoy (13) having a selectable number of shuttles (21, 22, 23); the first shuttle convoy (13) is movable between said first inactive position (R1) and said first active position (P1) in order to mount a defined composition of auxiliary tools (41, 42) on the main bending tool assembly (2; 6).

A bending machine for sheet metal comprises a bending assembly (2) provided with a tool holder crosspiece (3) which is mobile and supports a set (20) of bending tools (40, 41, 42, 43, 44) which are aligned, and mutually positionable, along a first longitudinal direction (A) so as to form predetermined compositions (C1, C2, C3, C4) of bending tools suitable to bend a workpiece (50) according to respective defined bending lines; the bending assembly (2) comprises a moving assembly (5, 6) to move the bending tools (40, 41, 42, 43, 44) along the crosspiece (3), the set (20) of bending tools comprises, arranged adjacent and in sequence starting from an end (3a) of said crosspiece (3): four first bending tools (41) having a width of X+p, one second bending tool (42) having a width of X+2.Math.p, one third bending tool (43) having a width of X+3.Math.p, one basic bending tool (40) having a width of X, three third bending tools (43), one fourth bending tool (44) having a width of X+4.Math.p, two basic bending tools (40), one first bending tool (41), one second bending tool (42), a further set (21) of basic bending tools (40), wherein X is a basic width in mm of said basic bending tool (40) comprised between 30 mm and 70 mm, and p is a step between two lengths of subsequent tool compositions (C1, C2, C3, C4), comprised between 5 mm and 20 mm; the combination of one or more adjacent tools (40, 41, 42, 43, 44) of said set (20) of bending tools allows obtaining bends having all the lengths starting from a minimum bending length equal to said basic width (X) with said step (p).

A method for determining the wear properties of coated flat products such as galvannealed flat steel products is provided herein. In order to be able to achieve better comparability of the determined wear properties of different flat products at least one bending parameter for the bending of the particular flat product by a bending device is selected in accordance with defined criteria on the basis of information regarding the thickness and/or the strength of the particular flat products to be bent. The flat products are bent in the bending device in accordance with the selected bending parameters, wear thus being produced. The wear properties are analyzed in a predetermined manner on the basis of the wear of the particular flat products.

In a tool storing device handling a tool mounting stocker in which a punch and a die of a press brake are mounted in one stocker with rear surfaces facing each other, each of the stockers is supported on both sides by endless belts having one driving shaft, and the endless belts are circulated so that each of the supported stockers does not protrude to a worker side, whereby a position of a path line of the appropriate one of the stockers can be freely positioned at a position of the path line PL of a tool holder on the press brake side. This enables rapid and easy tool replacement by a bending robot by storing not only the tool made of the punch and the die but also the hand for the robot together.

A tool or die component for a press brake apparatus includes a tool body having a coupling end adapted for coupling with a holder, and a working end adapted for operation on a workpiece. One or more magnetic elements can be adapted for selective engagement of the tool or die component within a punch press apparatus by magnetic coupling with the tool body, where the working end is configured for forming the workpiece by operation of the press brake apparatus. The magnetic coupling can be defined between the tool body and holder disposed adjacent the coupling end, or between the tool body and an adjacent tool or die component disposed along a side surface of the tool body, or both.