Sheet Metal Bending Machine Types: NC, CNC, Electric and Tandem

Sheet metal bending machine types fall into six groups — manual sheet metal brakes, mechanical press brakes, NC hydraulic press brakes, CNC hydraulic press brakes, pure electric press brakes and tandem press brake pairs — plus folding machines. Of these, BEIGEMA builds four: the WC67K NC hydraulic from 400 to 6000 kN, the MB8 CNC hydraulic from 630 to 12000 kN, a pure electric line from 350 to 1000 kN, and tandem pairs up to 2*5000 kN per unit. Manual brakes, mechanical machines and folders are not in the catalog, so this page marks that boundary once and puts the rest against spec-table rows.

Every hydraulic, electric and tandem model is listed in the hydraulic press brake machine category.

1. Manual Sheet Metal Brakes: Box and Pan, Leaf and Hand Benders

Manual sheet metal brakes — box and pan brakes, leaf brakes, bench-top hand benders — are not part of the BEIGEMA product line, so this page gives no selection steps or capacity figures for them. The powered floor of the catalog sits at 350 kN: the pure electric 35T 1350 row, with the WC67K hydraulic line starting one step later at the 40/2200 row (400 kN over a 2200 mm table).

2. Mechanical Press Brake vs Hydraulic Press Brake

Mechanical press brakes are not a BEIGEMA product line either; every series in the comparison table below is hydraulic or servo-electric. What separates the catalog’s own two hydraulic classes is synchronization, not force. The WC67K NC hydraulic press brake with E21 controller runs synchronous torsion shafts, which its page describes as “suitable for folding medium-thickness sheet metal”; the valve section credits the machine with “strong dual-cylinder synchronization” from a Rexroth hydraulic valve. The MB8 CNC class adds servo proportional valves — Bosch Rexroth units the page lists with closed-loop control and ±0.01mm accuracy — and a W-axis compensation stage described in its back gauge section.

3. NC and CNC Hydraulic Press Brakes: WC67K with E21 vs MB8 with DA-66S

The WC67K E21 page lists its back gauge as X+Y and its controller functions one by one: single-step and multi-step programming that stores 40 programs with up to 25 steps each, X/Y axis CNC positioning of the back gauge and stop, and one-button switching between metric and imperial units.

• Nominal pressure 400 kN to 6000 kN; working table lengths 2200 mm to 7000 mm.
• Throat depth 200 mm to 400 mm; ram stroke 100 mm to 300 mm; main power 4 kW to 37 kW.

The MB8 CNC hydraulic press brake with DA-66S lists its controller functions as 2D graphical touch-screen programming, a 24″ high-resolution color TFT, 3D machine representation in simulation and production, and Profile-S2D offline software. Its 8+1 axis back gauge section names the work it is built for: complex multi-bending, with 8-axis back gauge multi-directional positioning plus W-axis compensation, forming irregularly shaped, long and large parts for mass production of cabinets, new energy, chassis and precision sheet metal.

• Bending pressure 630 kN to 12000 kN; bending lengths 1300 mm to 10000 mm.
• Throat 350 mm to 600 mm; slider stroke 100 mm to 400 mm; back stoppers 2 to 10 by model; main motor 5.5 kW to 55 kW, with 2×37 kW on the 1000T and 1200T rows.

Who buys which: the WC67K for straight flanges and simple profiles in medium-thickness sheet, the MB8 for the multi-bend cabinet, chassis and precision work its page names. Rear gauge precision on every MB8 row is listed at 0.05 mm, and maximum X-axis travel steps from 500 mm on the smaller beds to 800 mm and 1000 mm on the largest.

4. Pure Electric Press Brakes and Tandem Press Brakes

A pure electric press brake bending machine moves the ram on servo motors, and its page sums it up as an all-electric CNC press brake with zero oil leaks, ideal for high-volume sheet metal bending. Its crowning is mechanical: the page explains that force on the slider and worktable would otherwise leave “a larger bending angle in the middle of the sheet metal and a smaller angle at both ends”, and that the servo compensation system drives the worktable into reverse pre-deformation through a lead screw to hold the angle error within ±0.25°.

• Pressure 350 kN to 1000 kN; lengths 1350 mm to 3200 mm; throat 200 mm to 400 mm; slider travel 180 mm to 250 mm.
• Main motor 2*8.6 kW to 2*30 kW, average power 1.1 kW to 2.7 kW; bending speed 0-30 mm/s, return 200 mm/s; X-axis travel 400 mm or 600 mm, R-axis travel 200 mm.

A tandem press brake for long plate bending is two hydraulic units on a dual-machine linkage control system; per its own intro, the two machines can operate independently or work in sync, for various long and wide plates. Pairs run from 2*250T/4000 to 2*500T/6000, each pair rated between 2*2500 and 2*5000 kN. Buy the pair when plates exceed one bed and you still want two machines for separate jobs; a single WC67K bed reaches 7000 mm and a single MB8 bed 10000 mm.

5. Sheet Metal Folding Machines and Panel Benders vs a Press Brake

Folding machines and panel benders are not in the BEIGEMA catalog either — the four series above are all press brakes. If the drawing calls for a folded rather than ram-bent part, send it through the BEIGEMA contact page and we will say plainly whether one of the four series fits or not.

6. Which Press Brake Metal Sheet Shops Should Buy: Capacity Table and Decision Rules

Range ends come from each series table; a dash means not listed.

Evidence first: the WC67K and MB8 overlap from 630 kN to 6000 kN and 2200 mm to 7000 mm, so inside that band the choice is controller and synchronization, not capacity. So which type do you buy? Fix force and bed length from the part, then the drive:

• One-off thin flanges: a manual box and pan brake — not a BEIGEMA product, so source it elsewhere.
• Simple profiles in medium-thickness sheet: WC67K NC, 400 kN to 6000 kN.
• Cabinets, chassis, multi-bend precision parts: MB8 CNC, 630 kN to 12000 kN.
• High-volume parts to 3200 mm, no hydraulic oil: pure electric, 350 kN to 1000 kN.
• Plates longer than one bed: tandem pairs to 2*500T/6000.

Run material, thickness, bend length and V-opening through the press brake tonnage calculator first; every published tonnage step is laid out row by row in the press brake tonnage chart, the compact end of the range in small press brake models, and the seven selection checks in how to choose a press brake.

Sheet Metal Bending Machine Types FAQs

When is an NC press brake enough, and when do I need the CNC class?

The WC67K E21 stores 40 programs of up to 25 steps and positions its X/Y back gauge automatically — enough for straight flanges and simple profiles in medium-thickness sheet. Move to the MB8 when the work matches what its page names: complex multi-bending on cabinets, chassis and precision sheet metal, where 8-axis back gauge positioning plus W-axis compensation and Profile-S2D offline programming carry the job.

Synchronized tandem press brake or two separate press brakes for long plate?

A tandem set is two hydraulic units on a dual-machine linkage control system that, per the product page intro, can operate independently or work in sync; pairs run from 2*250T/4000 to 2*500T/6000 with combined force from 2*2500 to 2*5000 kN. Choose it when plates exceed one bed and you still want two machines for separate jobs; when every part fits one bed, a WC67K reaches 7000 mm and an MB8 10000 mm in a single machine.

How do I check controller and crowning claims before ordering a CNC press brake?

Ask for the quoted machine’s configuration list to name the same lines the product pages print: controller model, compensation type and controlled axes. On the MB8 DA-66S page those lines read Controller: DA-66S and Compensation: Mechanical Crowning, and the back gauge section specifies 8-axis positioning with W-axis compensation — a quote that stops at “CNC” without those lines is not describing the machine you will receive.

Is there a 160 ton CNC press brake with crowning for stainless cabinet panels?

Yes: the MB8 160T/3200 row lists 1600 kN over 3200 mm, 400 mm throat depth, 200 mm slider stroke, 500 mm X-axis travel, 3 back stoppers, 0.05 mm rear gauge precision and an 11 kW main motor, and its configuration list names mechanical crowning. Send the panel drawing with material grade and thickness and we will confirm the row.

Tell us the thickest sheet, the longest bend and the material, or send the drawing through the BEIGEMA contact page, and we’ll point you at the row that fits.