New hire here learning our press brake, and I’m torn: the foot pedal with a light curtain lets me keep the part square and fly through small flanges, but two-hand palm buttons feel safer and stop accidental strokes yet make tiny returns a juggling act. Any fun trivia on when two-hand controls became standard, and what do you run for the best safety vs throughput trade-off?
Trivia: two-hand controls hit “standard” territory in the ’70s under OSHA/EN pressure on presses, and light curtains in the ’90s brought pedals back for production. We run pedal + curtain for small flanges like you mentioned, then swap to two-hand for first-offs or awkward setups — tiny returns are just cleaner on the pedal. What material mix are you bending most?
I like a keyed mode switch: two‑hand + slow inch for setup, then pedal with a cat‑4 light curtain and reduced approach speed for production — two‑hand buttons are the original “are you sure?” dialog. Trivia nugget: anti‑tie‑down two‑hand landed in ANSI B11 in the ’80s, and light curtains brought pedals back in the ’90s. What control are you on (Delem/Cybelec/Amada), and do you have safe speed/hold‑to‑run?