Press Brake Tooling Rack Case Study

Developing a safer, more efficient press brake tooling cabinet

Our team built a press brake tooling rack, tailored to our specific requirements. It gave us much easier access to our tools, freed up production floor by creating a vertical storage space, and greatly improved our overall custom press brake tooling process.

INTERNAL NEED:
Our internal team was facing problems with our press brake tool operation. The traditional, cookie-cutter storage systems failed to stay organized and caused numerous handling issues because of their ineffective layout.
Due to these inefficiencies, as well as potential hazards, we knew we needed a custom solution for our tools. Our team got to work conceptualizing and engineering a brand new press brake tool cabinet that we fabricated, powder coated, and assembled in-house.

RESULT:
We created a press brake tool cabinet that helps us safely store tools and move them to their machines, while reducing the handling for each part. It is a streamlined solution that is simple to navigate and keep organized.

HOW IT WAS ACHIEVED:
To improve organization and ensure it was easy to put all the tools back into their respective places, we established a color coding system for the new cabinet. This system not only assisted our team with putting the tools back in the correct location, but also made it faster to find the exact tool they were looking for while working. Plus, all drawers and compartments are labeled, so that we can account for every tool.

Reduced Handling

In addition to lacking organization features, the run-of-the-mill press brake tooling storage cabinets had a significant flaw that impacted both employee productivity and tool longevity: excessive tool handling.

Because the old cabinets were not thoughtfully designed with tool placement in mind, tooling must be flipped and turned multiple times for proper alignment to the press brakes. This situation introduced multiple opportunities for handling and damaging the parts, and, with some tools weighing up to 50 lb, it also created additional hazards for employees.

While developing the new press brake tooling rack, our team mindfully positioned each tool to lower the risk of handling damage, including:

• Keeping tooling of similar sizes near each other
• Storing tools in the same position that they hang in the machine

Continued Improvements

While the new press brake tool cabinets have drastically increased our efficiency and safety, we continuously look for room to make our products even better.

After two years of using these cabinets, our team is in the process of building a new model that will be mobile, helping us move the cabinet to different machines as needed and store it out of the way when it isn’t in use. We’re also currently working on features that will allow only a single drawer to be open at a time and for the rack to be moved by a forklift.

Are you in need of sheet metal fabrication, manufacturing, or assembly services? Contact us today to learn more.