Tube bending as a process starts with loading a tube into a tube or pipe bender and clamping it into place between two dies, the clamping block and the forming die. Depending on the bend angle, wall thickness, and bending process the inside of the wall may wrinkle. To reduce this the tube may be supported internally and or externally to preserve the cross section. One side effect of bending the workpiece is the wall thickness changes the wall along the inner radius of the tube becomes thicker and the outer wall becomes thinner. When calculating a two plane bend, one must know the bend angle and rotation (dihedral angle). A 2D tube has the openings on the same plane a 3D has openings on different planes.Ī two plane bend or compound bend is defined as a compound bend that has a bend in the plan view and a bend in the elevation. More complex geometries include multiple two-dimensional (2D) bends and three-dimensional (3D) bends. Common simple bends consist of forming elbows, which are bends, and U-bends, which are 180° bends. The very first machine went into service in 1996 and is still in production.Ī tube can be bent in multiple directions and angles. The first all-electric tube bending machine was invented in 1995 by UK company Unison Ltd.īased in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Unison developed bending machines with 20mm, 40mm and 65mm tube capacity. Other factors involved in the bending process are the wall thickness, tooling and lubricants needed by the pipe and tube bender to best shape the material, and the different ways the tube may be used (tube, pipe wires). However, square and rectangular tubes and pipes may also be bent to meet job specifications. Generally, round stock is used in tube bending. Freeform-bending processes, like three-roll-pushbending, shape the workpiece kinematically, thus the bending contour is not dependent on the tool geometry. These processes can be used to form complex shapes out of different types of ductile metal tubing. Straight tube stock can be formed using a bending machine to create a variety of single or multiple bends and to shape the piece into the desired form. Tube bending may be form-bound or use freeform-bending procedures, and it may use heat supported or cold forming procedures.įorm bound bending procedures like “press bending” or “rotary draw bending” are used to form the work piece into the shape of a die. The external appearance of aluminium makes it ideal for highly visible parts.Tube bending is any metal forming processes used to permanently form pipes or tubing. Tecnocurve also has a 5-axis work centre and a modern CNC lathe that ensures we can supply our customers with products that have already undergone most of the tube processing they require. In addition to bending and roll bending, Tecnocurve can also perform boring and slotting before bending, with the aid of a laser tube. The aluminium tube bending radius that can be achieved, for both tubular elements and section bars in aluminum, must always be evaluated by means of a feasibility study that accounts for the technical characteristics of the alloy to be processed.
Thanks to the experience of our engineers at Tecnocurve, this bending equipment is designed and produced directly in-house.
Unlike the equipment used for processing steel tubes and tubular sections, these bars need specific types of equipment adapted to the bar to be processed.
The bending process for aluminium involves the following elements: Recommendations are made about the technical and physical specifications of the temper to obtain high-precision aluminium bending results.īending aluminium tubes, tubular sections and bars