Selecting the right CNC folder is crucial for any HVAC, metal fabrication, or metal roofing shop. Whether you’re bending ductwork, architectural panels, or structural components, your choice between a Short Folder and a Long Folder will impact your efficiency, production capacity, and business growth.
What Are Short Folders?
Short Folders are compact metal bending machines, typically 2 to 4 meters in length. They are primarily single-direction folders, meaning they bend material upward only using a lower folding beam that pushes the sheet toward the clamping beam.
Advantages of Short Folders
- Compact and space-efficient; ideal for smaller shops.
- More affordable for low-to-mid production volumes.
- Heavy-duty steel side frame design provides excellent rigidity and precision.
- Ideal for trim flashings and hemming profiles
What Are Long Folders?
Long Folders are larger bending machines, typically 3.2 to 12.2 meters in length. Unlike short folders, long folders are available as either single or double, meaning they can bend both upward and downward, eliminating the need for manual flipping of the material.
Advantages of Long Folders
- Handles longer parts with ease; ideal for roofing/architectural panels and large fabrication projects.
- Double-folder capability (optional) allows for upward and downward bending, reducing strain on the operator.
- Automation options include grippers, infeed tables, and material handling systems.
- Increased shop capacity – A double folder is more efficient, allowing larger jobs to be processed more quickly.
When choosing a CNC folder, there are four critical factors that will directly impact your shop’s production efficiency, labour requirements, and overall workflow: frame design, back gauges, material thickness and customization options.
These elements determine how well a machine handles different materials, how easily operators can position and manipulate sheets, and how adaptable the CNC folder is to your specific production needs. Understanding these differences will help you choose a machine that aligns with both your current demands and future growth.
Frame Design
Short Folders:
Short folders are built with heavy steel side frames that close at both ends. This provides stability and precision for the clamping and folding beams, ensuring the machine can handle its rated material capacity.
Long Folders:
Instead of solid side frames, long folders use a series of C-Frames along the machine’s length. The number of C-frames varies based on the machine’s bending length. This open-ended design allows for additional features like side infeed tables, which let material feed into the folder from the side of the machine. The C-Frames can also be adjusted independently of one another for crowning, which eliminates twisting of the material and ensures profiles are formed accurately over the entire length of the part.
Short folders have a more rigid, enclosed frame, while long folders use C-frame supports. This accommodates an optional material side in-feed system that allows for greater flexibility in material handling, specifically for material to be manufactured at long lengths.
Back Gauges
Short Folders:
Short folders offer a variety of back gauge configurations to support different material sizes. There are solid back gauge fingers (for consistency and repeatability) or spring steel fingers (which can pivot flat under the clamping beam to gauge smaller measurements when required). Spring steel fingers wear over time and will need replacement with frequent use. Whether you choose solid back gauge fingers or spring steel fingers, the difference in back gauge finger design is more so dependent on the manufacturer and will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Long Folders:
Due to their C-frame design, long folders have limited back gauge travel, typically around 1250 mm. On the plus side, the back gauges often include grippers that hold and reposition the material without damaging it. This allows for better handling of pre-bent flanges and hems (they can reach around a formed flange or an open hem without damaging the part). The grippers often have multiple modes that can be used for a variety of applications.
Short folders offer more flexibility in back gauge configurations, while long folders rely on grippers for automated positioning that help ensure accuracy for long parts.
Customization
Short Folder Options:
Short folders require that blanks are cut on either a shear or a cut-to-length/slit-to-width line before parts can be formed. When parts are ready to be formed, the operator has the following options:
Rotating top beams: Some models feature a solid full-length fold tool on one side of the beam and segmented tooling on the other that can be grouped in different lengths to allow for forming on all four sides of a part.
Click-on segmented tooling: A cost-effective alternative to rotating beams but requires manual setup when switching between tool types. This option allows the folder to have either solid full-length tooling, or segmented tooling that clicks into the upper beam of the folder. It’s often better to keep the folder equipped with one tooling set up and integrate a manual brake with segmented tooling in your workflow.
Long Folder Options:
Integrated roller shear: Can cut material directly within the machine to the correct blank length.
Side infeed system: Uses suction cups to automatically pull pre-cut blanks from a stack, making load time much more efficient.
Hydraulic material adjustment: Automatically adjusts the upper and lower folding beams based on material thickness.
Automatic infeed table: Automatically loads and unloads material, making the process more efficient for the operator. It also reduces the need for another person to handle large parts.
Automated material handling: Includes options such as presenting blanks to the CNC folder, reorienting the part when required, and placing the completed part on conveyors from the work cell. It can also handle either one long part or multiple short parts at the same time.
Long folders offer more automation features, while short folders provide flexible, cost-effective tooling options for smaller shops.
How to Choose the Right CNC Folder for You
Consider Your Production Volume
- Short Folders are best for custom, flashing and trim production and 10-12 ft parts.
- Long Folders are ideal for high-volume production and long sheet metal components
Space & Workflow Efficiency
- Short Folders take up less space, making them great for compact workshops.
- Long Folders need more floor space but reduce manual labour with automation.
Future Growth & Automation
- Investing in a Long Folder doesn’t mean you have to replace your Short Folder—many shops keep both for different tasks.
- Short Folders remain useful for specific jobs, helping maintain production efficiency without disrupting workflow.
- Automation is the ultimate goal for improving workflow and reducing labour costs and having both types of folders can support that transition.
Need Expert Advice?
The choice between a Short Folder and a Long Folder depends on your shop’s production needs, available space, and future goals. Both machines offer unique advantages, and the best option depends on how you plan to scale your business. If you’re planning to invest in a new CNC folder and want personalized recommendations, reach out to us using the form below, or give us a call! We’ve been helping shops like yours for over 30 years.