System for producing bent sheet-metal articles and components of the system

A system for producing bend sheet-metal articles comprising:

• a bending machine having a punch and a die which cooperate with each other and define a bending space, and
• a manipulator having a movable head which can grip a piece of sheet metal and place it in the bending space,
• characterized in that each piece to be bent has its own gripper, and in that the head of the manipulator has rapid-attachment means for gripping and releasing the gripper associated with each piece,
• a station for the fitting of the grippers on to the pieces to be bent and a station for storing the pieces which have been provided with grippers,
• the manipulator is arranged to present each piece of sheet metal to be bent, or at least a flange of the piece, to the bending machine in a vertical plane, and in that the pieces to be bent are stored vertically with their grippers disposed in the positions in which they are fitted on to and removed from the head of the manipulator.

A bending machine, comprising:

• a fixed base
• a cradle mounted on the base for pivoting about a horizontal pivot axis,
• a tool-holder structure carrying a punch and a die which cooperate with each other and define a bending line,
• the tool-holder structure being rotatable relative to the cradle about an axis of rotation perpendicular to the horizontal pivot axis and coinciding with the bending line,
• the tool-holder structure including:
• a C-shaped section disposed in a bending plane which passes through the bending line and through the axis of the relative displacement of the tool;
• and
• first and second pivoting supports for supporting the punch and die and articulated to both ends of the C-shaped section, the articulation axis of the pivoting supports being perpendicular to the bending plane.

A bending machine comprising:

• a fixed base,
• a cradle mounted on the base for pivoting about a horizontal pivot axis,
• a tool-holder structure carrying a punch and a die which cooperate with each other and define a bending line, the tool-holder structure being rotatable relative to the cradle about an axis of rotation perpendicular to the horizontal pivot axis and coinciding with the bending line, comprising an auxiliary structure which measures the relative displacement of the punch and the die and is not influenced by the deformation of the tool-holder structure induced by the bending force, the tool holder structure comprising a hollow C-shaped section which houses the auxiliary measurement structure,
• wherein the C-shaped section is disposed in a bending plane which passes through the bending line and through the axis of the relative displacement of the tools and carries, articulated to its ends, first and second pivoting supports to which the bending tools are connected, the articulation axes of the pivoting supports being perpendicular to the plane.