We're responsible for building-----we're responsible for manufacturing-----we're responsible for training
Fume hoods, lab cabinets and instrument housings — many variants, small batches, cleanable edges, and a repeatability you can put in a technical file.
Medical and laboratory equipment is high-mix, low-volume, high-consequence work. A fume hood range, a lab cabinet programme and an instrument housing family together generate hundreds of part numbers in batches of tens, not thousands. That combination rules out dedicated tooling and rewards two capabilities in particular: tooling-free punching, so a new variant is a program rather than a die order, and program recall with stored compensation, so a part made six months ago is reproduced exactly rather than re-proved.
Two further requirements shape the process. Cleanability means folded, hemmed or dead edges rather than exposed cut edges, and radiused internal corners rather than sharp ones — geometry produced at the forming stage. And documentation means the same part must come out the same way batch after batch, because your quality system, not just your customer, depends on it. Program-driven forming with recorded compensation values is what makes that claim defensible.
STON CNC (Qingdao Ston Mechanical Technology Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese original manufacturer of CNC panel benders and turret punch presses, founded in 2006 in Qingdao, China. All equipment described here is built inside STON CNC's own 20,000㎡ factory, from casting and heat treatment through machining, assembly and inspection. Machines carry ISO 9001 quality certification and CE marking under Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, and are exported to more than 80 countries. View certifications and patents →
These products share a profile: coated or stainless sheet between 0.8 and 1.5 mm, folded on all four sides, in dozens of size variants across a single product range.
A laboratory fit-out generates bespoke cabinet widths and hood configurations that may never be ordered again in that exact form. Tooling-driven processes cannot absorb this. Turret punching from a program and bending with automatic tool change turn a new variant into an afternoon of engineering rather than a tooling lead time.
Exposed cut edges collect contamination and fail inspection. Hemmed and dead edges, radiused returns and closed corners have to be formed, and a flexible edge folding machine produces them directly with a minimum folded height of 4 mm. Adding them later, by hand, is where small-batch margin disappears.
Service parts, retrofits and repeat orders arrive years after the original batch. If the part was set up manually, it is re-derived by whoever is available. Program recall with stored angle and compensation values means the tenth production of a part is dimensionally the same as the first — which is what a documented quality system actually requires.
For this sector the driver is variant count rather than volume. Configure for changeover speed first and throughput second.
Medical and laboratory work sits comfortably inside the forming window on thickness. The constraints that bite here are part size at the small end and stainless gauge on hygienic products.
| Parameter | Panel bender | Flexible edge folding machine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical gauge | 0.8–1.5 mm | 0.8–1.5 mm | Well inside capacity |
| Cold-rolled / coated max | ≤2.0 mm cast / ≤1.5 mm welded | 0.5–2.0 mm | At full bending length |
| Stainless steel max | ≤1.2 mm cast / ≤1.0 mm welded | — | Check sterilizer and hygienic parts |
| Max forming size | up to 2800 × 1500 mm | 1200 × 1200 to 2000 × 1500 mm | By model |
| Min four-sided inner size | approx. 140 × 190 mm | 200 × 200 mm | Small instrument housings check here |
| Minimum bending height | 5 mm | 4 mm | Hemmed cleanable edges |
| Special processes | Positive and negative, 0–180° | Arc, dead edge, offset | Cleanable edges use dead edge |
| Punching accuracy | ±0.1 mm on turret punch press | Repeatability approx. ±0.01–0.02 mm | |
| Angle accuracy | approx. ±0.5°/m, straightness approx. 0.2 mm/m | Stored per part number | |
| Utilities | Three-phase 380 V, 0.6 MPa air | Configured to destination voltage | |
Four-sided panels and enclosures in 0.8–1.5 mm across many variants and small batches, with hemmed cleanable edges and dense service cut-outs. Changeover speed matters more here than cycle time.
Deep-drawn instrument bowls and pressed housings, extruded frame profiles, and small instrument enclosures whose four-sided inner size falls below the minimum forming dimension.
Small brackets, mounting plates, prototype housings and any part below the minimum four-sided forming size. In a high-variant shop the press brake also absorbs urgent service parts without interrupting the main cell.
Risk assessment follows EN ISO 12100; safety-related control functions such as light-curtain interruption and emergency stop are specified to EN ISO 13849-1. Hydraulic press brakes supplied into the EU are built against EN 12622. Machines placed on the EU market carry CE marking under Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC with the accompanying technical file. Quality management is certified to ISO 9001, and machined structural tolerances follow ISO 2768. For the finished product, EN 14175-2 sets safety and performance requirements for fume cupboards and ISO 13485 governs quality management for medical devices. Neither is a machine standard — but a documented quality system requires demonstrable production repeatability, and stored bend programs with recorded compensation values are a practical part of that evidence.
On the machines this means fully enclosed rear fencing, protective covers on all protruding moving parts, laser guarding that halts motion when the protected zone is broken, over-tonnage protection on turret punch presses, and grating-ruler offset-load detection on panel benders.
In a high-variant shop this is a utilisation question. Most equipment manufacturers start with a laser and add punching when service cut-out patterns start repeating.
| Fiber laser | CNC turret punch | Punch-laser combined | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New variant, no tooling | Immediate | Within tooling library | Good |
| Repeating service cut-outs | Pierces each feature | Fastest | Fastest |
| Louvres, ribs, thread prep | No | Yes | Yes |
| Baffle slotting | Slow at density | Fast | Fast |
| Edge condition | Burr-free | Slight burr, deburr may be needed | Mixed |
| Floor space | Moderate | Moderate | approx. 40% less than both |
| Best time to buy | First machine | Once patterns repeat | When one part needs both |
| Does STON supply it? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cleanable edge geometry is not produced by either cutting process — it comes from folding. If hemmed edges are specified across your range, a flexible edge folding machine belongs in the cell regardless of which blanking route you choose.
Figures below describe the direction and mechanism of the change. Actual results depend on your part mix, batch size and shift pattern — we model them against your own drawings before quoting.
| Item | Press brakes and manual setup | Programmed punch and bend cell |
|---|---|---|
| New cabinet width variant | Full setup and first-article proving | Program edit and recall |
| Repeat of a part made two years ago | Re-derived by the operator | Recalled with stored compensation |
| Cleanable hemmed edges | Multiple setups or manual finishing | Single folding operation |
| Service cut-out patterns | Laser plus secondary operations | One clamping on the turret punch |
| Batch of 15 pieces | Setup dominates run time | Program recall, minimal setup |
| Dimensional evidence for the quality file | Operator records | Stored program and compensation values |
| Urgent service part | Immediate on a free brake | Interrupts the cell — keep a manual machine |
Payback logic we use with customers: (annual labour released + reduction in rework and scrap + additional saleable output) ÷ installed equipment cost. We build this with your real numbers rather than publishing a headline figure that would not match your plant.
Service cut-outs, baffle slotting, ventilation patterns and thread preparation in one clamping without dedicated dies. ±0.1 mm accuracy, turret speed to 40 rpm, brush and steel-ball composite table for coated sheet.
View SF series →
Program recall with stored angle and compensation values per part number, plus automatic tool change between variant families. Rapid compensation adjustment along the bend line after each part change.
View press arm type →
Dead edge, arc and offset bending with a 4 mm minimum folded height — how a cleanable hemmed edge is produced rather than hand-finished. 42CrMo forged blank holder, fully enclosed rear fencing.
View folding machine →
Tooling-free blanking so a bespoke variant never waits for a die. Exchange table loads the next sheet while cutting, with burr-free edges on coated and stainless sheet.
View laser unit →
Repeating service patterns and one-off apertures on the same housing in one clamping, in roughly 40% less floor space than two machines, with no re-clamping between operations.
View SFL series →
Brackets, mounting plates, prototypes and parts below the minimum four-sided forming size. Multiple process parameter sets recalled with one click, multi-axis CNC back gauge, no hydraulic oil.
View PBE series →Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Qingdao, one hour from major export ports and the airport. Casting, heat treatment, machining, welding, assembly and inspection all happen inside our own 20,000㎡ factory. That is why a configuration change for a high-variant equipment cell does not become a six-month subcontracting problem.
Laboratory and hospital projects run to commissioning dates with penalties attached. A machine fault that delays a bespoke cabinet delays a room handover, which is why response time is part of the specification rather than an afterthought.
Specifications on this page verified against STON engineering documentation on 4 August 2026. Forming limits are confirmed against your own drawings before quotation. Published on 4 August 2026 · Last updated 4 August 2026 · Reviewed by Vicky Xu, Head of Overseas Sales.
Variant count and batch size decide the configuration, not headline volume. Send a range of drawings including your smallest housing and we return a configuration and a realistic changeover estimate within 24 hours.
Prefer to talk first?
WhatsApp: +86 18153226091
Email: [email protected]
Send your requirements through our secure enquiry form. Our team will reply within 24 hours.
Whether you're upgrading an existing line or starting a new project, STON will customize a CNC solution for your production.
