Laser cutting and press braking:
sheet becomes
numbered parts

Four operations between flat sheet and a part that can be welded. Every one of them has a number attached, and the first part of every batch is measured against it.

Run in 304 or 316L in our own factory in Foshan — cutting, forming, welding and finishing are all done in-house.

Days: D13–25
Who: Laser · brake · V-groove
You receive: First-part check
Tolerance: ±1 mm

Where sheet becomes parts

Cutting is the step clients think is precise and welding is the step that decides whether it looks precise. Both are true, and this is the first half.

Sheet arrives flat and leaves as numbered parts. Between those two states there are four operations: cut the outline, cut the pattern, fold the edges, and groove the line that will be folded later.

The four operations

Laser cutting — outlines and apertures, held to a tenth of a millimetre on patterns
Press braking — returns and folds, with the bend allowance calculated per thickness and radius
V-grooving — a shallow line cut on the back so a thick panel folds to a sharp outside corner
Deburring — every cut edge, because a burr becomes a crack in the finish

The first part off every batch is measured and signed before the rest of the batch is allowed to move.

What the first-part check records

Check	Method	Record
Outline and pattern	Measured against the drawing, aperture pitch included	±1 mm
Fold angle	Digital protractor on the first and last part of the batch	±0.5°
Bend allowance	Developed length compared to drawing	±0.3 mm
Flatness	Straight edge across the panel, both diagonals	1.2 mm / m
Edge condition	Visual, at 300 mm, under raking light	Burr-free
Marking	Part number applied before it leaves the cell	Per drawing

What goes wrong in cut and form

Bend allowance is calculated, not guessed

Every fold has a developed length derived from the real thickness and radius, not a rule of thumb.

If skippedA 1.5 mm return comes out 2 mm short on every part, and the joint that was designed at 3 mm is 5 mm everywhere.

The pattern is checked on pitch, not on size

Aperture spacing is measured across the whole panel, because a pattern that drifts looks bent even when it is flat.

If skippedThe panel is the right size, the last hole is 3 mm out, and the screen reads as leaning.

V-groove depth is controlled

Groove depth is set per thickness so the outside corner folds sharp without cracking the skin.

If skippedThe groove is too deep, the corner cracks, and the crack is only visible after plating.

The cutting floor

Two lasers, five brakes, four V-groove stations.

Laser bed — sheet in place, head cutting

A folded return, still sitting in the press brake tooling

03 · to be shotV-groove line on the back of a panel

First part measured before the batch moves

Ask us for the document
from any step.
Any step.

Every step below ends with a record. Ask for a specimen of it before you place an order — the answer tells you more than any brochure.

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