BENDING DEVICE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bending device in which smooth conduction of step bending is assured and an operator's burden is reduced by automatically making an operation panel freely movable in a lateral direction and if foreign substances including portions of the operator's body exist in the operation area of the operation panel, the operation panel is prohibited from moving and once moved operation panel is stopped in emergency to assure the operator's safety. SOLUTION: The bending device 1 has the operation panel 20B disposed freely movably in the lateral direction and a control means 20X for moving the operation panel 20B to a prescribed positioning position X' at every bending order. Also, the bending device 1 has the operation panel 20B disposed freely movably in the lateral direction, foreign substance detecting means 8, 9 detecting the ingress of the foreign substances into the moving region of the operation panel 20B and a control means 20G to prohibit the operation panel 20B from moving when the ingress of the foreign substances is detected. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT