Pressure Die Assist

Pressure Die Assist is a term that is used in the industry to for pressure die actuator that moves forward, under pressure, with the tube in a rotary draw bender. An alternative term is Pressure Die Assist. This feature is often used in bending applications that are more difficult - like tool setups with small ratios of centerline radius to tube diameter. This ratio is referred to as the " "D" of bend ".

Pressure Die Assist was called "Pressure Die Boost" by Eaton Leonard. (You can find the term in patent documents in the 1990s.)

Pressure die assist is is often actuated using hydraulics and flow-control valves. Some bender manufacturers offer programmable PDA features in which the pressure and/or the velocity can be controlled at the operator station - and set uniquely for each part program. Electric benders may use electric servo motors to control the PDA motion.

Its Value

PDA has great value when tool friction on the tube is at the edge of the envelope for material strain. The extra several hundred pounds of pressure from the pressure die assist can make a bend setup succeed where it fails without it.

Used in CNC Bender

• CNC Bender software is designed so that it can store programmable pressure die boost PRESSURE and VELOCITY values. If you have this feature on your SMT/ATT CNC Bender, then the values can be programmed in the BEND option cells in the FRB (Feed Rotate Bend) menu.

• With motion-controlled PDA, CNC Bender can perform precise PDA Gearing

• For the ultimate solution, CNC Bender can also use a powerful RVG (Realtime Variable Gearing) feature in motion-controlled PDAs to adjust the PDA Gearing in real-time during bending.