Abstract: A metal sheet is supported and transported in relation to a punching and/or shearing station, by supporting the sheet on upwardly projecting flexible bristles, the tips of which define a supporting plane. The bristles have their bases embedded in strips that are removably jammed in grooves defined in a stationary base structure. A conveyor, arranged beside the supporting plane includes a driven, endless belt. The belt has transversally extending bristle bars mounted to it so that, in its carrying run, its upwardly projecting bristles have tips which are effectively coplanar with the stationary supporting surface.

Abstract: A set of anchoring elements including a first and a second anchoring element of modular type, usable either as an alternative to or in combination with one another in relation to the requirements of height adjustment of a clamping fixture's components. Each of the anchoring elements includes a hollow external casing provided with a hollow threaded screw for its fastening to an underlying anchoring element or to a supporting pallet for a piece which is to be machined, and a hollow threaded bush for the fastening of a clamping fixture's anchoring element or active component located immediately above. The first and the second anchoring element are provided with structure suitable for preventing their rotation with respect to the underlying anchoring element, or supporting pallet.

Abstract: The bending unit includes a fixed counterblade, a metal sheet holder which, pressing on counterblade, holds one of the edges of metal sheet and a blade arranged on the same side of the metal sheet holder as the metal sheet. This blade, translating with respect to the counterblade and to the metal sheet holder, causes the displacement outside the plane of the edge of the metal sheet which is not held by counterblade and metal sheet holder. The counterblade and blade are made in a plurality of segments parallel and side by side to one another in a direction orthogonal to the plane of the metal sheet, and the metal sheet holder is so flexible as to follow the counterblade in its deflections.

Abstract: Equipment for machining pieces on a pallet includes a work station, an adjacent station for the loading/unloading of pallets and a single device for transferring the pallets from the work station and the loading/unloading station. The work station includes a pallet-holding carriage which can slide horizontally on a fixed base and the loading/unloading station including two pallet-holding supports, one for receiving a pallet to be loaded with a piece to be machined and the other for receiving a pallet with a machined piece to be unloaded, at a distance from one another and parallel to the direction of sliding of the pallet-holding carriage. The transfer device includes an arm and a forearm articulated with respect to one another, mounted on a lateral appendix of the pallet-holding carriage and which can be operated so as to engage the pallet to be transferred and to move it from one to the other of the work and loading/unloading stations.