Micro Press Brake
I needed something to accurately bend thin strips of soft metals like Beryllium Bronze. My first use for the tool is to make battery contacts for my Hewlett Packard RPN pocket calculators. I have been 3D Resin printing the battery housings and recovering the original contacts from the existing packs usually results in less than desirable results.
The blade was made from some scrap steel strip. I cut a notch in the blade and silver soldered a piece of 1/4" grade 5 bolt into the slot. The die was 3D printed. Ultimately I will make one from metal, likely aluminum due to the ease of machining. I will however see how long the 3D printed die lasts....
Test run of the press brake.
The finished press brake.
Sample bends, the long strips are 0.008 and the short one is 0.020. If I had a lower die made from metal I could have easily bent it to 90 degrees.