A press brake or just brake, is a machine tool used for bending sheet and plate material, most commonly sheet metal. The press brake consists of two C-frames connected to a table at the bottom and on a movable beam at the top. The bottom tool is mounted on the table with the top tool mounted on the upper beam. press brake forming is one of the oldest mechanical metal deformation process.  During the process, a piece of sheet metal is formed along a straight axis and may be accomplished by a "V"- shaped, "U"-shaped, or channel-shaped punch and die set.

Although press braking appears as a simple process, but its accurate execution can be quite difficult. One of the most common industrial press braking process is Air Bending that relies upon three point bending. The main benefit of air bending is that it uses lesser force than other methods to achieve a 90° bend due to the leverage effect.

Characteristic of the metal press brake forming process include:

1. It can easily form ductile materials
2. The process can be used in both low and medium production run applications
3. It requires minimal tooling
4. It is suitable to produce smaller parts

Materials commonly used in the brake forming process include; aluminum, brass, cold rolled carbon steel, hot rolled carbon steel and stainless steel. Thanks to its efficient nature, today brake press forming has become a norm in the automobile industry. These days, a cnc brake press operator can easily make superior quality parts without wasting any steel. Not only that, the hydraulic press brake forming has also helped in improving the quality of auto parts. 

To read more about alternatives to brake pressing follow this link. Why roll forming is more cost effective then brake pressing.

This article is from http://industrial-machinery-news.com/roll-forming-machines/brake-press-forming/