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.

The invention relates to a bending tool (3) for inserting into a tool mount (2). The bending tool comprises a tool body (4), a locking element (8) which is connected to an activating element (7) accessible outside of the tool mount (2) and which has a locking tab (9) for securing the bending tool (3) in the tool mount (2) by engaging in a recess arranged therein, wherein a base position of the activating element (12) corresponds to a unlocking position of the locking element (16) and an actuating position of the activating element (13) corresponds to a locking position of the locking element (15). Furthermore, there is a tool position securing element (17) attached displaceably in the tool body (4), which tool position securing element, in a securing position (18) that protrudes with respect to the tool body (4), establishes a connection for fixing the position of the tool body (4) with respect to a displacement direction (5) in the tool mount (2). Both the locking element (8) and the tool position securing element (17) are connected to the same activating element (7).

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 sheet material bending system includes a tool changing apparatus that changes tools between a press brake and a tool stocker. The tool stocker is arranged behind the press brake. To change tools from the front and rear of the tool stocker, the front and rear of the tool stocker are opened. The tool changing apparatus has a pivot that is movable in front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions and is rotatable around an axis extending in the up-down direction. A front end of the pivot is provided with tool holding units to hold tools.

A bending system includes a greasing unit configured to move in a right-left direction by way of a moving operation of an external operation member and to supply grease to a sliding contact part of a tool holder, and a greasing unit holder provided on one side in a right-left direction of a table and configured to support the greasing unit. The greasing unit includes a greasing unit main body, and an application member provided on the greasing unit main body and formed in a shape corresponding to the sliding part of the tool holder, the application member being configured to be able to be impregnated with the grease.

A press brake tool or similar machine component includes a tool body with a first end configured for operation on a workpiece and a second end configured for coupling the tool with a tool holder in a press brake or related machine tool apparatus. A latch mechanism is provided in the second end, with an actuator configured to rotate the latch mechanism into first and second positions, respectively, for selective engagement and disengagement of the tool with the tool holder.

A gathering operation includes a restraint operation of moving forward a left lower tool retention member so as to restrain a reference lower tool with the left lower tool retention member, an inserting operation of moving forward a right lower tool retention member so as to insert the right lower tool retention member into an insertion hole of a target lower tool, and an execution operation of moving the left and right lower tool retention members along a left-right direction so as to come close with each other. If a failure of the inserting operation is determined, a control device performs a retry operation of moving forward the right lower tool retention member again so as to insert the right lower tool retention member into the insertion hole (141) of the target lower tool after moving backward the left lower tool retention member.

A press brake tool or similar machine component includes a tool body with a first end configured for operation on a workpiece and a second end configured for coupling the tool with a tool holder in a press brake or related machine tool apparatus. A latch mechanism is provided in the second end, with an actuator configured to rotate the latch mechanism into first and second positions, respectively, for selective engagement and disengagement of the tool with the tool holder.

A press brake tool comprises a tool body having a working end configured for operation on a workpiece and a coupling end configured for engagement with a tool holder. The working end is disposed along the tool body, generally opposite the coupling end. One or more magnetic elements can be configured to induce a magnetic coupling for selective engagement and disengagement of the coupling end of the tool body with the tool holder.

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).