Case study: 100-ton, 2.5 m CNC press brake
The requirement was ordinary — 100 tons, 2.5 m bed, CNC — and the interesting part was everything around it: a small shop, an existing tooling standard and a floor that had to take the machine without rebuilding.
The requirement as stated
A fabricator running mixed work — enclosure panels, brackets, general press work — in a small shop. The tonnage question arrived first, as it usually does: 100 tons, 2.5 m bed, CNC. The numbers were never in doubt; the constraints around them were the real specification.
The configuration as built
- Machine: conventional-frame CNC hydraulic press brake, 100-ton class, 2,500 mm bed.
- Control: CNC with multi-axis backgauge — the axis count set by the customer's box and enclosure work rather than by price.
- Tooling clamping: matched to the customer's existing standard, with a working punch and die set specified against their part mix.
- Crowning: mechanical crowning as standard on the frame — verified by test bend along the bed before shipment.
- Documentation: full pack — inspection and test record for the serial number, drawings, manual, packing list matched to the crate.
The decisions that mattered
- Tooling standard first. The customer owned tooling for their clamping system; the machine was built to match it. The alternative was a machine plus a complete second tooling set — a cost nobody puts on the quote.
- Backgauge axes from the part mix. Boxes and enclosures in the product list meant R and lateral axes, not just X — the NC vs CNC comparison is where that decision starts.
- Floor and rigging checked before order. A small shop means a tight route in and a slab that was not built for 100-ton-class machines. Placement and levelling were planned, not improvised.
- Test bends before crating. Angle measured at several stations along the bed at working tonnage, with the measurements in the documentation pack.
Delivery and commissioning
Pre-shipment photo and video report of the serial number, export crating with machined surfaces protected — the shipping and packaging page describes the process — and on arrival, the acceptance checklist run on the customer's own material before the machine went into production.
The transferable lesson
Tonnage and bed length are the two numbers buyers arrive with; tooling standard, floor loading and rigging are the three that decide whether the machine works on day one. Ask all five questions before ordering, whichever factory you buy from — the buyer’s guide lists them in order.
Frequently asked questions
What was the requirement?
A 100-ton class CNC brake with a 2.5 m bed, for a fabricator running mixed enclosure and bracket work in a small shop. The binding constraints were the floor space and the existing tooling, not the tonnage.
What was delivered?
A conventional-frame CNC hydraulic press brake in the 100-ton class with a 2.5 m bed, multi-axis backgauge, set up for the customer's existing tooling clamping standard, with a working tooling set and the full documentation pack.
Why did the tooling standard matter so much?
The customer already owned tooling for their clamping system. Shipping the machine set up for a different standard would have made every existing punch and die unusable — a hidden cost larger than several machine options. Clamping standard is specified at order time or it is specified by accident.
What was the hard part?
The floor. The shop had a slab rated for lighter equipment, so machine placement, levelling and the load path were checked before the order was confirmed rather than discovered on delivery day. The <a href='/guides/press-brake-delivery-installation/'>delivery guide</a> covers that checklist.
What did this order teach us?
That the tonnage and bed length were the easy part of the specification. The tooling standard, the floor loading and the rigging route into the building decided whether the machine would work on day one — and all three are answerable in a five-minute conversation before ordering.
Specify your machine properly
Send the part, the material, the tooling you already own and the floor it has to sit on. We will come back with the configuration a similar order received.