Patent ID: 7069762

Claim:
Bending machine comprising a machine frame, a bending beam moveable relative to said machine frame for bending a workpiece made from flat material, an upper beam having an upper beam tool and a lower beam having a lower beam tool, the upper beam and the lower beam being disposed such that they can move relative to one another on the machine frame, and at least one drive for moving the upper beam tool and the lower beam tool toward one another in order to clamp said workpiece made from flat material and located between the two beams during a bending operation by said bending beam, the at least one drive comprising at least one displacement drive for generating an opening and closing movement of the upper beam and the lower beam relative to one another and at least one force drive for generating a greater force than the displacement drive, said force drive being adapted to be used at least in order to cause a deformation of a portion of the workpiece disposed between the upper beam tool and the lower beam tool, said deformation being separate from said bending operation and the displacement drive being stationary and blocked during said deformation.