Used Plate Shears For Sale

Shears are used to cut sheet metal, aluminum, paper, plastic and even wood.  Each machine has capabilities of cutting the thinnest metal to the absolute thickest one can withstand.  It usually is the first machine that is used when manufacturing fabricated parts.  

There are guillotine shears and swing beam shears.  A guillotine shear is the type that has the blade drive in a straight direction going down and up.  A swing beam shear uses the power of leverage through a cantilevered ram to increase the tonnage which in turn increases the shearing capacity.  There are also two types of shear drive systems. We have hydraulic and mechanical shears. Mechanical machines are powered by a flywheel and the hydraulic machines are powered by cylinders that forces the ram up and down.

If you need to cut stainless steel then you should be searching for a machine that can cut a thickness of about 2x the material thickness you are using.  If you are shearing aluminium, the right machine would have to be able to cut through about ½ the amount of material thickness you are working with.  

Shears are made up of a main frame, squaring arm, gauging system, blades, a bed, a control, a hold down and accessories/options.   

• The main frame is what is going to be supporting the rest of the machine parts.  It will support the bed and drive system. You want to make sure it is a heavy frame so that you don't run into fractured side frames or cracked beds.  
• The squaring arm is important in making sure the material that is being cut at a square 90 degrees. 
•  A gauging system is on almost all shears on the market today.  There are manual or electronic gauges that provide assistance in getting the correct shear length on each cut.  
• The blades are made to cut through thick pieces of metal.  These are located on the upper moving ram and the lower fixed bed.  Shears usually have blades with 2 or 4 sharp sides depending on the type of machine.  
• The bed is the support for the lower shearing blade and the material. 
• The control is exactly what it sounds like, it controls the cutting process.  It could be as sophisticated as a programmable gaging system to as simple as a hand wheel with a foot pedal.
•  A hold down is a clamp that is located next to the shear blades.  This prevents the blade from shifting while cutting. It also prevents the blades from “tipping up” which would cause the material to wedge between the blades forcing a wider gap.
• There is a wide variety of accessories/options that can be customized to your shear.  Some examples are a hydraulic cooling system, mitering squares and extended backgauges.

Revelation Machinery can always help you find what you need!  If you have any questions about shears or need to find a specific brand/type, please feel free to contact us!  If you need to sell your used shear, do so here.