A tool changer includes a slider provided behind (or in front of) a table of a press brake, and configured to slide in a right-left direction along a tool installation part of the table, a finger provided in the slider, and configured to be inserted into an engagement hole extending through a tool and to move in a front-rear direction, and an engagement member configured to be protruded and retracted relative to an outer peripheral surface of the finger on a tip side, and to be engaged with a peripheral edge portion of the engagement hole of the tool (or an inner stepped portion formed at an intermediate position of the engagement hole).

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 holder assembly and insert body and activation system used with the assembly. The insert body of the tool holder assembly can be configured to shift as needed to engage tooling when the assembly is activated. In some cases, the insert body can be configured to shift further to better engage the tooling. The activation system can be electrical.

A tool holder and differing designs of movable portions that can be interchangeably mounted with the holder depending on the tang profile of the tool needing to be seated and secured to the holder.

A mold holder device in a press brake includes a mold clamp that clamps a mold with respect to a mold contacting surface provided for a holder body of the mold holder device. The mold clamp is pivotally arranged on the holder body. A long groove is formed in a mold clamping surface with which the mold clamp clamps the mold with respect to the mold contacting surface. The long groove is in parallel with a pivot axis of the mold clamp. A metal pipe member has a longitudinal slit and is inserted in a rotation restricted state into the long groove. A part of an outer peripheral surface of the pipe member is protruded toward the mold contacting surface.

The invention relates to a gripper system (16) for a press brake (2), having a gripping device (11) for manipulating a bending tool (6). The gripping device (11) comprises a first gripping arm (21) and a second gripping arm (22) that is displaceable in the clamping direction (26) relative to the first gripping arm (21), said gripping arms (21) being configured to engage in a gripping groove (17, 18) of a bending tool (6) and to clamp the bending tool (6). The gripping device (11) is arranged on a carriage system (46), said carriage system (46) comprising a horizontal linear guide (47) by means of which the gripping device (11) is displaceable towards the gripping groove (17, 18) or away from the gripping groove (17, 18) in the longitudinal direction (35) of the gripping arms (21, 22).

A lower tool for a bending machine, in particular die bending machine, includes a longitudinally extended base body, which has, on its bottom side, a tool shank for being received in a guide slot of a tool holder and optionally tool shoulders in the transverse direction, and at least one friction reduction device on the bottom side of the base body for reducing a frictional force between the bottom side and the tool holder in the event of a displacement of the lower tool in the longitudinal direction, wherein the at least one friction reduction device is configured such that a weight force of the lower tool acting on the tool holder, while applying a prestressing force in the direction of the weight force, causes a resulting normal force of the lower tool onto the tool holder that is lower relative to the weight force.

The invention relates to a tool storage system (32) as well as to a production facility (1) for free-form bending of workpieces (2) made from a metal sheet, by means of a bending press (3), comprising a tool storage unit (30), a tool manipulation unit (31), and a provisioning unit (55) having provisioning rails (56, 57). The tool storage unit (30) has an upper and lower storage rail (34, 35), which are disposed spaced apart from one another at a vertical distance, as well as locally fixed in place relative to one another. The tool manipulation unit (31) has tool manipulation devices (36, 37), wherein each of the same comprises a working rail (38, 42), an auxiliary rail (39, 43), a drawing-in device (40, 44), as well as a pushing-out device (41, 45). Each of the tool manipulation devices (36, 37) can be displaced laterally next to the storage rails (34, 35), along a longitudinal guide arrangement (46, 47). Furthermore, the invention also comprises a method for manipulation of at least one bending tool (4) in such a tool storage system (32).