Shearing Machine Knowledge
Published:
2021-03-20
What is the shearing machine?

There are different classifications of shears, so what is the difference between different shears? What are their specific functions?
A bench shear, also known as a lever shear, is a bench mounted shear with a compound mechanism to increase the mechanical advantage. It is usually used for cutting rough shapes out of medium-sized pieces of sheet metal, but cannot do delicate work. For the small shear, it mostly designed for a wide field of applications. Light weight and easy efficient operation, yet very sturdy in construction. The cutting blades fitted are carefully and accurately ground to give easy, clean quick cuts , and free of burrs. These special features help the operators save a great deal of their energy.
The machine used is called a squaring shear, power shear, or guillotine. The machine may be foot powered, less commonly hand powered, or mechanically or hydraulically powered. It works by first clamping the material with a ram. A moving blade then comes down across a fixed blade to shear the material. For larger shears the moving blade may be set on an angle or "rocked" in order to shear the material progressively from one side to the other; this angle is referred to as the shear angle. Setting the blade on an angle decreases the amount of force required, but increases the stroke.
A power shear is electrically or pneumatically powered hand tool designed to blank large pieces of sheet metal. They are designed to cut straight lines and relatively large radius curves. They are advantageous over a bandsaw because there is not a size limit. Large versions can cut sheet metal up to 12 gauge.