Hydraulic Shearing Machine | Swing Beam and Guillotine

Swing beam or guillotine

Swing beam shears cut with an arcing upper blade. They are the common choice for general sheet work up to around 6 mm, tolerant of variation and less demanding to set up.

Guillotine shears bring the blade down vertically, which keeps the cut square through thicker plate and holds tighter length tolerance. The trade-off is more structure and usually more cost.

Blade clearance and why it distorts your cuts

Most cutting problems blamed on the machine are actually blade clearance. Too little clearance produces a second cut and a burnished edge; too much lets the material roll and produces a burr and a bowed drop. Either way the piece that comes out is not square, and the next operation inherits the error.

Clearance is proportional to material thickness and type — setting it correctly per job is routine maintenance, not a machine defect.

Matching the shear to the brake

If you are buying both, size them together. A shear that cannot cut your widest sheet forces you to subdivide work, and a brake with more capacity than the shear can feed sits idle. Send us both ends of your process and we will quote the pair on matched capacity.

How to choose the right shear

A shear is sized to the cut, not to a single number. The inputs that matter, in order:

Thickest material and its type. Thickness sets the cutting force; the alloy sets the blade, clearance and hold-down needs. Stainless is harder and work-hardens, so it is a different proposition from mild steel at the same gauge.
Widest sheet you will cut. The cutting length must clear your widest piece with the backgauge where you need it. A shear too short for your sheet forces subdividing, which wastes material and time.
Required length tolerance. Loose structural cuts tolerate a swing beam; tight, repeatable lengths favour a guillotine with a precise CNC backgauge.
Volume. High repeat cutting rewards NC or CNC backgauge automation and faster cycle; occasional cutting does not.
Match to the brake. Size the shear so it can feed the brake's widest, thickest work. Mismatched capacity on either end leaves one machine idle.

The exact cutting length, thickness range and control options are a factory specification — send us your thickest material and widest sheet and we will come back with a configuration rather than a generic model number.

Common mistakes buyers make

Blaming the machine for bad cuts. Most squareness and burr problems are blade clearance set wrong for the material, not a defective shear. Setting clearance per job — proportional to thickness and type — fixes the majority of "the machine cuts badly" complaints.
Sizing the shear and brake separately. Buying each against its own wish list leaves one over- and one under-capacity, so one sits idle. They are two ends of one process and should be quoted together.
Over-buying guillotine for sheet work. A guillotine's squareness and tolerance are real advantages, but for general thin-sheet cutting a swing beam is cheaper to buy and maintain. Pay for the guillotine only where the accuracy is used.
Leaving a mild-steel clearance for stainless. Running stainless on a mild-steel clearance work-hardens the edge and shortens blade life. Reset clearance and hold-down per material.

When you do not need a shearing machine

Be clear about when a shear is the wrong purchase:

Your cutting is mostly shaped or pierced work. If you need holes, slots and profiles more than straight cuts, a punch or laser process is the right tool; a shear will not do that job.
You already have capacity upstream. If your supplier cuts to size or you have a plasma or laser, a standalone shear may duplicate capacity you are not using.
Your volumes are tiny. For a few cuts a week, manual or nibbler tools, or outsourcing, may beat the capital and floor space of a hydraulic shear.
You only bend, never cut to length. Then thepress brake range is your machine; a shear adds no value until cutting becomes a regular step.

Questions buyers ask

Swing beam or guillotine — which should I choose?

Swing beam shears arc the upper blade down and suit general sheet work, commonly up to around 6 mm, forgiving to set up. Guillotine shears bring the blade down vertically, holding the cut square through thicker plate and tighter length tolerance, at more structure and usually more cost. Pick by material thickness, accuracy need and how much plate you run.

Why are my cuts not square?

Most cutting problems blamed on the machine are actually blade clearance. Too little clearance produces a second cut and a burnished edge; too much lets the material roll and produces a burr and a bowed drop. Clearance is set proportional to material thickness and type, and is routine maintenance rather than a defect.

How do I size a shear to match my brake?

Size them together. A shear that cannot cut your widest sheet forces you to subdivide work, and a brake with more capacity than the shear can feed sits idle. Send us both ends of your process — thickest material, widest sheet, required length tolerance — and we will quote the pair on matched capacity.

Does stainless need a different shear setup than mild steel?

The same machine can usually cut both, but stainless is harder and work-hardens, so blade clearance, rake angle and hold-down pressure want different settings, and tool life is shorter. Set clearance per material per job rather than leaving a mild-steel setting in place for stainless.

Specifications

Pending input from the factory: Cutting length and thickness range (mild steel and stainless), shear angle range, backgauge travel and control options (NC / CNC), motor power, dimensions, weight.

Hydraulic swing shearing machine — 4-25 ton, 29 models, cutting lengths 2.5-6 m
Hydraulic guillotine shearing machine — 4-30 ton, 45 models, cutting lengths 1.6-6 m
CNC hydraulic press brake
Small tonnage machines
How much tonnage do you need? — for the brake side of the cell.
Tooling and accuracy
Delivery and installation

Shearing machine