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Last month we launched our new line of European Precision Style and Wila Trumpf Style press brake tooling. Choosing a new supplier of press brake tooling can create new questions, so we spoke with Steve Benson, a highly-regarded press brake tooling expert and President of Asma LLC about common tooling questions. His overarching piece of advice is go for the best tooling you can get your hands on. He also shared with us his top three tips for choosing the right tooling to increase productivity and reduce setup times on the shop floor:

1. Recognize the Type of Tooling You Need for the Job You’re Doing

The type of tooling you’ll need is dependent on what kind of products your company is manufacturing. If you are producing components requiring high accuracy, precision tooling such as European Precision Style or Wila Trumpf Style tooling are needed to manufacture high quality precision work.

2. Consider the Tool Profile and Load Limit

You always want to select your press brake tooling so you’re getting the strongest tooling profile possible. In other words, you want to use a straight punch tool profile in place of a goose neck if at all possible, since the goose neck is a naturally weaker tool. Be sure to watch your profiles and know how to pick the right tools based on the job you’re doing and the load limit of the tool. After the profile has been chosen, the load limit becomes a deciding factor. There are two limits you need to consider: the limit the tool itself can withstand, and the load limit of the press brake at center line.  When it comes to tooling, you should be more concerned with how much the tool itself can withstand. However, there comes a point where a tool can withstand more pressure than the press brake. In order to avoid damaging the press brake, the load limits should coincide with one another.

3. Design and Manufacture with Tooling in Mind

Finally, a very important consideration in designing and manufacturing parts is to evaluate the type of press brake tooling you need. Conversely, design and manufacture parts based on the tooling you purchased. For example, a bottom bending shop that’s using precision tooling can build the part based on the radius of the tool. Working back from the radius of the tool, the engineer is able to enter that value in his bend deduction calculations or into the CAD system, resulting in a consistent radius-specific part. Air forming is a completely different method of producing radius on the inside of the part. When you are air forming, you need to be able to predict what the radius will be based on the press brake tooling selected. This goes into the calculations so on the shop floor, the operators can use the correct tool set to achieve the predicted part results.

We hope these tips from Steve are helpful as you consider your current press brake tooling needs and supplier. Our new line of high-quality precision press brake tooling includes an expansive array of punches, dies, standard specials, specials and accessories for press brakes configured with European Precision Style and Wila Trumpf Style tooling. They are available in segmented, full-length and half-length sizes to suit nearly any metal bending application.