Tube Bending Machines
Manual & CNC-controlled tube & mandrel bending machines
The significance of tube-bending machines
Unless manufactured by milling or injection moulding, pipes are straight workpieces. Various features of prospective installation sites can mean standard components, such as branches, curves and angles, cannot be used; they must be created individually based on the production requirements at the site of installation. While a tube-bending machine is often required for the crafts trade for making pipes a particular shape, pipe-bending tools used in industry need to be capable of producing a large variety of pipes with the same bend angle or radius.
Tubes are straight workpieces
These pipes are continuously produced and then need to be individually bent into form
There is a large range of industrial tube bending machines available for this process
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Pipe benders are used widely in the mass manufacture of exhaust pipes for cars. These pipes are produced in a continuous procedure and must therefore be bent into shape after production. There are a wide range of automatic pipe bender models available for this purpose in the industrial sector. Hand-operated tube-bending machines are prevalent in the crafts trade due to their portability and ability to be used at any worksite. For industrial applications, however, pipes created using a continuous procedure are bent into shape by means of hydraulic tube benders and pneumatic tube benders, which are largely stationary.
How a pipe-bending machine works
Pipes cannot simply be bent using brute force - they would buckle and this would produce inaccurate shapes. This is why bending tubing and pipework is a task that must be performed by mechanical means. Pipeline-bending machines feature a clamping unit into which a selection of interchangeable bending tools can be inserted. In the case of manual devices, the pipe is clamped over the bending tool using a lever mechanism and pushed down until it takes the correct shape. The interchangeable bending tools mean pipes can be made into any shape. The design of the machine makes it especially suited to thick-walled pipes due to the force applied to the pipe during the bending process being fully distributed across the length of the bending tool. This prevents any buckling. A tube-bending machine with bending tool is particularly suited to serial production because it can produce quick, precise and durable results. When using a tube-bending machine with bending tool, problems may be encountered due to the complex task of switching tools and their limited strain-bearing capability. Another disadvantage is that individually producing tube bends by this method is uneconomical.
Tube-bending machine in use
There are three roll-type pipe-bending machines available for producing individual versions of pipes. They feature three rollers arranged in a V-shape across one plane. These are interchangeable and thus allow different tube formats to be produced at different bending radii. 3-roll bending machines are mostly used by manufacturers hoping to bend pipes on a larger scale. After programming the pipe-bending machine and clamping the workpiece in place, the middle roller moves between the other two rollers and bends the pipe into the desired shape.
Types of tube-bending machine
There are tube-bending machines available for every pipe format imaginable. The range encompasses bending machines for pipes of less than two millimetres in diameter (e.g. refills for ballpoint pens) through to pipe benders for large-scale pipelines. Programmable CNC pipe-bending machines are mostly used to process this type of pipe. Machines capable of bending such heavy-duty pipes usually feature a pneumatic or hydraulic application of force. Recently built pneumatic or hydraulic pipe-bending machines are also normally suitable for CNC pipe bending. Furthermore, these machines often enable edging and beading to be performed in one operation. A CNC pipe-bending machine can be programmed to produce bent edges and various angles and radii in accordance with the task at hand. Working on a CNC machine facilitates exactly defined and reproducible work results.
A variety of techniques can be used to bend a selection of pipes into recurring, well-defined shapes. A CNC tube bender can be used for swivel, roll or bottom bending. Swivel bending machines are ideal for bending pipes in frames for serially-produced bended parts - even in complex bend patterns. These machines are available in portable form for worksites, as a stationary stand-alone tool, or integrated into a bending centre. CNC pipe bending via roll-bending is ideal if you need to process stainless steel sheet metal pipes or pipes with pre-varnished or coated surfaces. This is because this production process prevents any scratches or marks being left on the workpiece.
Buying the right used tube-bending machine
Those looking to manually bend pipes generally buy a new machine due to the relatively low price at which they can be acquired. In contrast, pneumatic and hydraulic tube-benders are frequently purchased second-hand. However, those looking to buy a used pipe-bending machine would do well to pay attention to more than the condition of the device - what exactly will the device be used for? Is it suitable? Buyers hoping to bend pipes on a mass-scale, such as in the automobile, construction, chemical or foodstuff industries, should look to the power of the drive to ensure the used pipe bending machine is capable of generating enough applied force to properly perform the bending process. Many materials require a hydraulic or pneumatic pipe bender. This applies to cold-formed metal pipes made of steel, copper, aluminium, brass or bronze, as well as plastic pipes made of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics.
Overview of pipe-bending machine manufacturers
A selection of companies have focussed on manufacturing tube-bending machines. These include TRANSFLUID, ERCOLINA, LANG, WAX, MINGORI and DORN whose machines come highly recommended. You can find tube-bending machines for sale from these and other prestigious manufacturers in our industrial auctions. The range of machinery on offer is continually expanded following countless clearance sales, company closures and insolvencies. Regularly taking a look at our second-hand machinery marketplace is always worthwhile.
