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GIGAbend Bending centers

RAS GIGAbend Metal folding system

GIGAbend: Excavation buckets

RAS GIGAbend with grippers

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GIGAbend

Bending centers

Gigantic!

Straight bends are essential for perfectly folded parts. A sturdy and solid machine design powerfully resists the bending forces. An intelligent crowning system and 120 tons of clamping pressure ensure perfect folded parts on 6 mm mild steel or 4 mm stainless.

Machine highlights
  • Ideal bending solution from 0.5 to 6 mm mild steel
  • Large free space for maximum parts design flexibility
  • Easy to handle
  • Bending of panels and profiles
  • Bending any angles, radii, open/closed hems

Bending radii
without special tools 

Bending sequence

Amazing clamping pressure

The upper beam moves down and up with a spindle drive. For clamping the parts PowerBoosters are activated. They create 120 metric tons of clamping pressure, hold thick workpieces in position and have sufficient reserves for hemming.

  • Large-volume upper beam for straight bends
  • Large open space around the upper beam (design freedom)
  • PowerBooster (secure material clamping, hemming power)
  • Long and deep guiding system (high bending accuracy)
  • Encapsulated spindle drive in an oil bath (low maintenance)
  • Large free space behind the upper beam (view from behind)

High-Tech folding beam

The folding beam is the heart of each folding machine. The intelligent crowning system of GIGAbend automatically compensates elastic beam deformation caused by the bending forces. Sensors measure the beam deflection. The results are straight bends and precision parts.

  • Fast movements: short cycle times
  • Deep folding beam: Excellent bend results 
  • Automatic clamping of segmented folding beam tools

Straight bends without test bends and without programming for:

  • Thin and thick materials
  • all material types (mild steel, stainlessm aluminum, etc)
  • long and short flanges
  • in the machine center or close to the machine stands

Automatic material thickness and radius adjustment

On a program change, the machine automatically adjusts in 5 seconds to the new sheet thickness and bending radius. A digital display provides additional comfort during the folding beam initialization.

  • Automatic folding beam adjustment to material thickness
  • Automatic pivot point adjustment for perfect bend radii
  • High productivity due to less change-over time

Versatile gauging system

The gauging system positions the part for each bend. It supports the weight of the large and heavy components. The stop fingers can be lowered in any program line so that the workpiece does not collide during rotation.

  • Accurate and repeat bends
  • No 2nd operator (50% cost)
  • Fast positioning by changing from a front to a rear stop finger
  • Ball casters in table for easy movement of the workpieces
  • Space-saving stop configurations: Rectangle stop, J-, U-shape systems
  • Squaring arm for narrow and long parts

Tools for every application

The tools of the upper beam, folding beam and lower beam are segmented. The front-free or rear-free geometries provides plenty of space for long C-flanges or narrow components. Different tool heights and shapes cover the variety of bending challenges. In case of a focussed part analysis a single tool set is often sufficient for the entire range of parts.

  • Tool segments can be easily handled by a single person
  • Short set-up times due to automatic tools clamping
  • Perfectly fitting tools segments (retrofittable at any time)
  • Folding beam tool width selected for sheet thickness and smallest Z dimension
  • XL-folding beam tools with extra-large free space

Radius tools in the upper beam

For some materials, material manufacturers recommend the use of radius tools. The larger bending radius avoids cracks on the material surface. Especially when bending thick aluminum, the radius tools lead to excellent bending results.

  • No cracking of the material surface
  • Only slight paint thinning on pre-coated sheets

 

Folding beam tools with plastic insert

In contrast to press brake bending, which usually leaves clearly visible pressure and scratch marks next to the bending line, metal folding can also be described as gentle forming. This makes a considerable difference in quality for parts with a demand on the optical finish. However, if upper beam tools with a radius are used instead of sharp tools, the sliding section of the folding beam tool on the material surface will be also longer. In such applications folding beam tools with a plastic insert avoid pressure marks on high-quality material surfaces.

  • Bending of pre-coated sheets and stainless steel parts (sometimes even without protective film)
  • The parts shown are bent with radius tools and without protective film
DATA SHEET
RAS GIGAbend—Technical data

RAS 76.30

RAS 76.40
Working length 3200 mm / 126" 4060 mm / 159"
Material thickness max (400 N/mm²) 6.0 mm / 126" 5.0 mm / 6 ga
Upper beam upstroke 500 mm / 19.7" 500 mm / 19.7"
Upper beam clamping pressure (metric) 120 tons 120 tons
Gauging system (Rectangular gauging system) 10–1550 mm / 0.39"–61" 10–1550 mm / 0.39"–61"
Gauging system (J gauging system) 10–3050 mm / 0.39"–120" 10–4050 mm / 0.39"–159.5"
Machine dimensions (Rectangular gauging system) 4620 x 2430 mm / 182" x 96" 5480 x 2430 mm / 216" x 96"
Machine dimensions (J gauging system) 4620 x 3940 mm / 182" x 155" 5480 x 4890 mm / 216" x 193"
YOUR SUCCESS!
Success stories with GIGAbend
Kaupp BlechbearbeitungWomen power

A job shop with a focus on machine cladding and containers has to be able to cover a wide range of sheet thicknesses in the bending process. The sometimes large and heavy components with large surfaces are ideal for metal folding. A wide range of challenges need to be mastered in terms of bending geometries. This includes hems, radii, inside bends, sheets with sensitive surfaces, and the full range from very thin to very thick materials. The RAS GIGAbend metal folding machine manages this balancing act perfectly.

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Bending radius parts for advertising displays

When bending radius parts from 3–4 mm aluminum, the RAS GIGAbend can achieve outstanding results. Exact and repeatable radii over the entire length of the part and scratch-free material surfaces characterize the folding technology for radius parts with perfect optical finish. Using adapter tools, the customer can produce tools with any desired radius and expand the range of applications the GIGAbend can achieve at a reasonable price.

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Tecnic Metal ListesGIGAbend in metal construction

Tecnic Metal Listes near Barcelona, Spain, is a metal builder specialized in the metal doors, projecting roofs, fireplaces, stairs and window frames. May the special requirements of the architects be extremely special, Angel Rodriguez and his team, will take any challenge. With the RAS GIGAbend and several sets of tool, the small company meets nearly all requirements. Angel Rodriguez appears perfectly satisfied with his decision for the RAS GIGAbend. "The machine has so much free space that we can custom-design parts profitably even in small batches."

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Salzmann Formblechtechnik GmbHBending cable car station

Where formerly cable car stations were located in windy heights, skier and hiker nowadays expect a luxury ambience. Modern cable car station today are comfortable building that offer much more than just wind and weather protection. The lift stations of the Doppelmayr cablecars are known worldwide. Salzmann Formblechtechnik GmbH produces the sheet metal covers for cable car stations on a RAS GIGAbend folding machine.

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Stahl Wäschereimaschinenbau GmbHGIGAbend bends laundry equipment

STAHL Wäschereimaschinenbau manufactures laundry equipment already in the fourth generation. Among the customers of STAHL there are hotels, hospitals, laundries, handicapped work-shops, tanning salons, commercial laundries and many others. STAHL uses the GIGAbend RAS 76.40 for panels as well as for structural components up to 5 mm mild steel thickness on 4060 mm working length.

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HelgesenHeart of the construction vehicles production

The production principle at Helgesen is networking. As a subcontractor, the company located in Hartford, Wisconsin (USA) is closely associated with its customers. This starts in the joint product design and goes through the flow preparation until delivery. Nate Marshall explains, "RAS GIGAbend is one of our core machines for the production of platforms on the right and left of Caterpillar's construction truck. We produce 15 of these platforms every day. All panel type and structural components are bent on the GIGAbend".

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Interested in our production program?
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Or would you like a little more?
Request our information package

The information package includes
  • a 3D view of the machine
  • a dxf view for hall layout planning
  • a jpg representation for the project presentation

Ready for the next step
Request the GIGAbend now without obligation.

SUCCESS
Pioneering solutions for bending