A Guide to Pipe and Tube Benders

Many of our customers come to us with applications and want to know what type of bender will work best for the job. We have put together a guide to help you understand some of the limits and uses of the different benders.

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Draw Benders

Rotary draw benders use die sets with a fixed radius to bend pipes and tubes. Draw benders are available in various types including manual benders, electric, or hydraulic benders. Programmable draw benders allow the operator to set up multiple bends per part with different degrees of bend.

Common applications for rotary draw benders include handrails, frames, handles, vehicle roll cages, and more. A major advantage of standard draw benders is that the initial investment is significantly lower than a similar capacity mandrel bender. The drawback is the level of accuracy and the requirement of a larger radius, usually 3 x D and higher, where D refers to the tube diameter.  When accuracy and appearance is critical to your product, you will need to move up to a mandrel bender.

Use draw benders for lower volume production and lower accuracy.

Mandrel Benders

Mandrel benders insert a piece of solid steel (plug) or a series of steel balls (ball mandrel) into the tube to give the tube additional support during the bending process. Mandrels prevent wrinkling and breaking and allow you to make tighter radius bends; 1.5D up to 1D. Mandrel benders are commonly found in the automotive and motorcycle fabrication industry.

Mandrel benders are available in 100% electric, hydraulic, or electric/hydraulic combinations. Electric mandrel benders offer higher accuracy and are ideal for 1&#;-2&#; tube bending. They tend to be quicker and require less maintenance. Hybrid electric/hydraulic benders are often used for larger tubes and where the CLR is very tight. To bend very large diameter tubes (ex. 6&#; tubes) an all-electric servo driven machine might be cost prohibitive. Hydraulic mandrel benders are the best option if you use large diameter tubes for lower productions.

Use hydraulic mandrel benders for low productions.

Use electric/hydraulic mandrel benders for medium production and larger diameters.

Use 100% electric mandrel benders for high productions when the highest level of accuracy is needed.

Double Head Benders

Double head benders are a type of draw bender that is able to produce 2 bends simultaneously while bending 1-3 tubes at a time. You can expect a huge increase in productivity with this type of bender, it will also improve bends because it allows you to control the distance between bends more accurately.  

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Double head benders are used for bending tubes when a little larger radius is acceptable. This type of bender requires the centre line radius of the tube to be at least 2x the tube OD. For example, shops that produce furniture often use double head benders for fabricating table legs. Bicycle manufacturers will also use this type of machine to bend handle bars.

Use double head benders for high volume productions.

Roll Benders

Roll benders, or hydraulic profile benders, are used for bending pipe into large diameters or rings. These machines consist of 3 dies aligned on a horizontal plane with semi-automatic or CNC controlled operation.  

Use roll benders for rolling rings.

Important Information on Selecting a Bender

We covered the general guidelines and uses for the various types of  benders, but when you purchase a new bender you will need to have some important information about the tube you will be bending:

What you need to know:

1)      The type of material

2)      The thickness of the material

3)      The outside diameter OD of the tube

4)      The centre line radius (CLR)

5)      The distance between bends

These are the critical factors that have to be taken into consideration when you select a bending machine. If you have a tube bending job that requires a new machine then contact a Westway representative to help you find the bender that will meet your specifications, production demands, and your budget.

>>Looking for a new bending machine? Have the 5 specifications listed above handy and give us a call at 1-800-263- to find your best machine option. 

Bending capacity

You should whether the machine capacity is compatible with your tube size. Each machine has its specific size capacity. Only the tubes falling under the capacity range can properly fit in the pipe bending machine.

Material

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You should review the tube material type that is to be bent on the machine. Stainless steel is harder to handle compared to carbon steel, the bending force needs to be bigger, and it is easier to spring back, aluminum material bending force is usually not that large. 

It is necessary to listen to the opinions of the machine manufacturer and select the appropriate machine model according to the specific pipe size and pipe material.

Parts Shapes

You should also think of the part shapes and the two bends distance. For some products, their design will have interference, it will hit the machine body or the tooling, or the floor in the bending process, so we have to choose a machine that can avoid such interference. And the two-bends distance is also important, if the straight distance is too short,  you&#;ll have to use a pipe bending machine with compound tooling. The machine will be more expensive.

Speed

If you require a fast bending machine for your mass production operation for swift results, you can opt for CNC pipe bending machines or twin head pipe bending machines as they are faster. 

Durability

An important aspect to consider before you buy a pipe bending machine is its durability. The functionality and reliability of any bending tool also ascertain the overall long-lasting performance of a pipe bending machine.

Strength

Strength is another factor to consider before buying a pipe bending machine. The pipe bending machine should be rigid enough to endure the workload without sacrificing any performance.

Quality & Accuracy

It is also vital to determine whether a pipe bending machine is capable of creating the most accurate and highly precise bends devoid of any errors or damages. A quality pipe bending machine is capable of creating the most accurate bends.

You should also determine the engineering quality of the pipe bending machine i.e. machine assembly, quality of the servo motor used, quality of rack and pinion, and guide rail. The accuracy of the pipe bending machine is based on these factors.

Control System Stability

The reliability, hardware configuration, and functionality of the control system affect the stability and efficiency of a pipe bending machine.

When you choose a pipe bending machine, you should pay more attention to the controller&#;s reliability, the components it uses.

Safety

Most people buy a pipe bending machine without knowing the efficiency of its safety precaution features. Actually, there are safety covers and safety mats to be sold to provide the safest operating environment. 

It is better to invest your money in a pipe bending machine that can guarantee your safety and won&#;t put your life in danger.

Maintenance

A well-maintained pipe bending machine prevents damages and proposes consistent functionality. Pipe bending machines and the tooling compel regular cleaning between consecutive operations.

But some companies strive to lower your load by creating exceptional pipe bending machines that require the least maintenance and care allowing you to focus entirely on your pipe bending operations. 

You can choose a pipe bending machine that doesn&#;t require much additional attention and time-taking maintenance to save your money and time.

Warranty

Consider the warranty duration and the after-sale service the supplier provide. Any downtime will make you lose time or money. 

Others

Consider upstream and downstream procedures, so that the bending operations don&#;t have any issue with tube entering or exiting the machine after being bent.

You should also pay attention to some special necessities i.e. complete tolerances of the machine, ovality or wall thinning, and other quality requirements.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of 3 4 Copper Pipe Straightener. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.