Bend CAM

A sheet metal flat can be bent to its final shape using a press brake. Here are some of the tasks Flux does, when it is being used to program these machines:

Compute a feasible and optimal bending sequence that avoids collisions, and minimizes part rotations or flips.
Compose bend tooling stations from the available inventory of bend tools, using punches, dies, adapters and extenders as needed.
Compute gauging locations where the back-gauges can be positioned to align the part for bending.
Configure special equipment like angle measurement or bending support aids that the press brake may be equipped with.
Generate an NC program that can be transmitted to the press brake for processing.
Generate reports (such as Setup sheets) for the bending process.

In addition, Flux also has a Fold module that supports panel benders, and a Robotic Bend module that supports robotic press brakes (where a robot is used to do the part-handling).

Flux incorporates algorithms and heuristics to compute the bending solution automatically, and in most cases little or no intervention should be required. However, Flux also provides a rich set of tools and operations to interactively modify the bending sequence, tooling setups, gauging positions and every parameter of the bending process.

As these edits are made, various checks (including a full range of collision and feasibility checks) are performed in real time, and you can always view the results of your edits as you work, without having to request for a recompute.

Getting started

Here are some resources to get you started with Flux:

All modules of Flux share a user-interaction model called the Clarity interface. Read through the section on the Clarity interface when you are getting started with Flux.
You can install bend machines from the Machine Database, and can configure them to match the actual machines available on your shop floor.
You can use the Bend Tools Database to install tool catalogues, import custom tools, and to configure the inventory of bending tools to match what you actually have on your shop floor.
The starting point for all the CAM modules is CAD data, and you can get those CAD files by importing 2D or 3D data, or even by drawing them using the Sketch tools built into Flux.

Once you have a bending solution computed:

You can use the various Editor Panels to directly click on and edit attributes like the tool setup or the gauging.
The Bend Navigator can be used like a dashboard to quickly view and edit the status of the entire bending operation. Clicking on a warning or error cell here takes you to the source of the problem, which you can then fix interactively.
The Advanced section describes additional operations on the Bend Technology, including Recomputing the solution with modified settings and Batch Processing.