In what order should press brake tooling be set up?

Clean, inspect, seat the punch, align, confirm the die opening, set crowning and depth, then prove the setup on a scrap part. Seating and alignment come first because they cause the most faults.

Why does my bend angle vary along the length after a tool change?

Usually the tooling is not fully seated, the segments are mismatched, or crowning is not set for the job. Clean and reseat, then check the segments for wear.

How do I align a punch in a press brake?

Seat it against the seating face, clamp progressively from the centre outwards, and check with a dial indicator or a test bend measured at both ends.

Should I use a test part before every run?

For a critical angle, yes. A scrap part costs less than a run of parts with the wrong angle, and it confirms the depth correction for the material actually in the machine.

Press Brake Tooling Setup: Seating, Alignment, First Part

How do I set up press brake tooling?

Clean and inspect the tooling, seat it fully in the clamp, align it along the machine centreline, set the die opening symmetric to the punch, and then prove the setup on a scrap part before running production. Seating and alignment cause more faults than any other step.

Setting up press brake tooling, step by step

Work in this order. Each step removes a variable, so a fault found later can be attributed to one change rather than several.

Clean the tooling and the clamps. Scale and swarf stop the tool seating and cause uneven bends.
Inspect for damage. Check the tip, the shoulders and the tang for chips, wear or burrs.
Seat the punch fully. Push it up against the seating face before clamping, and clamp progressively from the centre outwards.
Align. Set the tool along the machine centreline and check the die is symmetric about the punch.
Confirm the die opening. Measured, not assumed, and matched to the calculated job.
Set the crowning and the depth. Set crowning for the bend length and load.
Prove it on a scrap part. Measure the angle and correct the depth before production.

Why does the tool need to be clamped from the centre outwards?

Clamping from the centre pushes the tool up into the seat progressively and works any trapped air or debris outwards. Clamping from one end can trap the tool at an angle, which shows up as an angle that varies along the bend.

Setup faults and the symptom each one produces
Fault in setup	Symptom
Tool not fully seated	Bend angle varies along the length
Die not symmetric to the punch	One bend flank is longer than the other
Mixed or mismatched segments	Step in the bend or angle drift
Wrong die opening	Radius and minimum flange wrong, tonnage wrong
Crowning not set	Bowed bend in the middle
Depth not corrected for springback	Angle correct at the ends, wrong overall

How do I check that the tooling is aligned?

Use a dial indicator against the punch face along the length, or a straight edge and feeler gauge, and check the die is symmetric using the bend itself. A test bend measured at both ends is the quickest practical check.

A test bend should measure the same angle at both ends and in the middle.
If the middle differs, crowning or deflection is the cause.
If one end differs, the tooling is not seated or aligned.
If the whole bend is off, the depth correction is wrong.

What should be checked before every tool change?

Cleanliness, damage and height consistency. Replacing one worn segment with a new one in the same set puts a step into the bend, which is a very common and easily avoided fault.

Record the regrind history of each segment. Mixed wear within a set is one of the most common causes of an angle that varies along the bend.