Businesses are rapidly updating their technology game, thanks to the enormous advancement in today’s science and technology. Therefore, industries nowadays are faster, more efficient, and have increased productivity with high-end products.
However, making the shift is a huge decision for a company as there is more than one alternative, each being better than the rest in some or the other aspects. The same applies to press brakes. Currently, there are about three types of press brake machines — electric, hydraulic, and hybrid press brakes.
If you too are on the verge of updating your technology but can’t help between an Electric Press Brake and a Hydraulic Press Brake, we have gone ahead and listed out the prominent differences for you. Therefore, read on and enlighten yourself about Electric Press Brakes Vs. Hydraulic Press Brakes.
About Press Brake Machines and Their Types
Before we begin, let us quickly go over what press brake machines are and their purposes. Press brake machines are important and necessary machinery employed in the manufacturing industry. They are used for bending and manipulating metal plates and sheets. Accurl has been a staple name in this industry, providing the best press brake machines for years. It offers first-class equipment to the fabricator industry, which includes press brakes, CNC water jet cutting machines, laser cutting machines, and more.
Coming back to press brakes, it does what it does by pressing the desired metal between a die and a clamp, the pressure of which helps the metal sheet take the desired shape, bends, and forms. ACCURL Electrical Press Brake eB Icon Servo is the perfect example of an electric press brake.
As mentioned earlier, there are three main types of press brakes which include the traditional hydraulic press brake, the modern electric press brakes, and the newer innovation, hybrid press brakes.
Press brake machines are categorized based on what powers them. Therefore, while there are significant differences in characteristics, the main point of difference is how the machine is run.
Therefore, from that, we can understand that hydraulic press brake machines operate with the help of hydraulic energy, while electric press brake machines operate with the aid of electricity. As for hybrid press brake machines like Accurl’s Hybrid Genius Plus B Series 6~8-Axis CNC Press Brake, they use both the mechanisms of the hydraulic and electric systems to operate efficiently.
Please note that in this article, we will solely focus on Hydraulic and Electric Press Brake machines and delve deeper into their differences.
Hydraulic VS Electric Press Brake
Now that we have covered the basics, let us step into the real matter. So, what exactly are the points of difference between a hydraulic press brake and an electric press brake? Apart from their source of power, there are areas where these two show significantly different results or operations. Let us take a look:
Affordability
First and foremost comes the very basic point of difference that you as a businessman would like to understand — what are their costs? Apart from their initial costs, you should also take into consideration daily operation costs as well as maintenance costs.
Therefore, with those things in mind, hydraulic press brakes may be on the pocket-heavy side as compared to their electric counterpart. Because of regular fixing of leaks and seals, changing of filter and oil, the daily maintenance cost for hydraulic press brakes is quite high.
Also, the machine’s gear pump consumes energy when it is not operating, which can also bring up costs. You may use enhancements to save up energy and make the machine more efficient, but it still adds up to the cost.
Efficiency and Power Consumption
Next up, we will take a look at the efficiency and the power consumption of these two machines. In this section, electric press brakes machines prove to be more efficient.
Even though experts believe that electric press brakes take about twice the amount of hydraulic press brakes to give the same result, hydraulic press brakes consume more energy because it has to constantly keep on running.
Therefore, electric press brake machines are more efficient when it comes to power consumption, as their pump is operational only when the machine is put to work.
Speed of Operations
Due to oil-powered motors, hydraulic press brakes have a slower approach to acceleration and deceleration of ram positioning. Even though they have a comparatively faster speed of approach than electric press brakes, for this reason alone, hydraulic press brakes have a slower output speed. Electric press brakes, on the other hand, have a higher speed of bending.
Accuracy
When it comes to accuracy, electric press brakes are extremely accurate, as compared to hydraulic press brakes. As stated by experts, electric press brakes offer accuracy as precise as 1 micro or 0.000079 inches, as compared to 10.16 microns or 0.0004 microns precision of a hydraulic press brake.
Therefore, in this case, electric press brakes are more accurate among the two.
Environmental Factors
Lastly, we will take a look at environmental factors. As a business, you need to make sustainable decisions that will help preserve energy and look after nature. Therefore, considering environmental factors and factors that contribute to pollution is extremely important.
As for electric and hydraulic press machines, the former is more eco-friendly for various reasons. Let us take a look:
- Hydraulic press brake machines need to be kept switched on the entire day, which utilizes a lot of energy. However, electric press brake machines only need to be operational during use.
- Hydraulic press brake machines also contribute to noise pollution as it is kept on an entire day. Electric press brake machines, on the other hand, barely make any noise. The only noise it does make is during operations (the noise of the ball screws spinning).
- While this is not a continuous event, hydraulic press brakes are susceptible to oil leakage and spills, which can contribute to major issues for local communities.
Therefore, considering all aspects, electric press brake machines consume less energy, contribute little to nothing to noise pollution, and are far more efficient than their traditional counterparts.
Conclusion
So that is all there is to know about Hydraulic VS Electric Press Brake. Now depending on your circumstances, budget, requirements, and preferences, you may go ahead and choose the type that suits your conditionals the best.
Selecting the right press brake is an important decision for a business as they are a long-term investment. Therefore, you need to take in the right considerations before you reach a conclusion. On that note, here are a few important factors that you should consider to make a sound decision when it comes to choosing the right machine for your business:
- Check the tensile strength of the machine
- Determine the length and thickness of the metal sheets that you will be bending
- Consider the part’s inner radius
- Check for the width of the V
- Confirm the machine’s folding or bending length
With that, we will conclude this article. Take reference to this article as you make the sound decision of which press brake machine will be the best for your needs. Remember, along with the product; you also need to consider the provider. Therefore, always go for a trustworthy name such as Accurl to make the best out of your investment.
