Tubing is manufactured as a straight and rigid component, and yet often is required to curve around corners or objects in order to perform its required task. To achieve this, hot or cold form tube bending is undertaken to mold the tubing to the desired shape. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
Tube Bending Incorporated
Apple Valley, CA | 760-948-4220As tube fabrication experts, we can solve your fabrication problems with ease! We take our product quality seriously, as we started our company sourcing tube products for the Apollo project. Our company goal is to satisfy customers by offering high quality products, outstanding customer service, and affordable prices. Visit us online today to learn more!
United Metal Fabricators, Inc.
Cleveland, OH | 216-662-2000As tube fabrication specialists, United Metal Fabricators supplies custom formed and fabricated tubular and pipe assemblies for the chemical, nuclear, aerospace and industrial sectors. United Metal Fabricators is known for its Quality, Service, Dependability and On-Time Delivery. Discover all the services and capabilities this experienced company has to offer.
Superior Tube Products
Davenport, IA | 563-285-1914Tube fabrication is our mainstay. Designing, engineering, tube cutting, tube bending, tube end forming, slotting, welding and CNC machining bring your project to realization. We maintain a diverse customer base—retail (fixtures, displays), sporting goods, medical, office furniture, automotive, agriculture.
Tube Specialties Company (TSCO)
Troutdale, OR | 800-547-2414Since 1963, Tube Specialties Company has been the industry leader for Tube Bending, Pipe Bending, Tube Fabrication, Pipe Fabrication, Tube Punching, Tube Forming and Tube Welding; offering real solutions for the most complex tube requirements. With one of the most diverse steel fabrication plants in the United States, we are your complete fabrication company providing quality products and service.
J & D Tube Benders Inc.
Schofield , WI | 800-283-8302J & D Tube Benders is recognized as the fastest in tubeline fabrication. We supply hydraulic tube assemblies and manifolds, plus offer a number of in-house tube fabricating services: plating, coating, welding, brazing. Serving customers since 1971. Call us today! We are ISO 9001: 2000 certified.
RB Fabricators Inc.
Youngstown, OH | 330-779-0263RB Fabricators Inc. is a pipe bending and fabricating business. Our primary industry segments are steel, chemical, architectural, pneumatic and vacuum. Our headquarters is in Youngstown, Ohio which places us close to core producers and industries. We serve our customers with excellent products of high value in an efficient and timely manner.
Tube Bending – United Metal Fabricators, Inc.Canopies, trusses, bridges, sculptures, exercise equipment and furniture, plumbing and machinery all require angles and bends in tubing, and industries such as agricultural, construction, automotive and others all depend upon and use several lengths and diameters of tubing on a daily basis. Tubes can be bent either manually or automatically, or using a combination of both methods.
Press bending is a common method in which a die in the shape of the desired bend is forced against the pipe, causing it to form the same angle as the die. Some tube bending machines use mandrels for the process of mandrel bending and to create a cleaner, more uniform bend. This is undertaken while the tubing is being formed and thus is often a hot forming process. Other machines take pre-formed tubing and force it to bend around a series of rollers, in a similar process to tube rolling, or using a die and compression handle to bend the pipe.
The maximum angle at which a pipe is bent is usually 90°, although it can range greatly depending on intended use. A length of tube can be bent a single time, or multiple times if needed, but due to the lack of internal support within a tube, the bending often results in a distortion of the circle cross-section into a ovular shape. This deformation is seen more clearly on tubing with thin walls as they provide less resistance to structural change and are more prone to distortion.
The pipe bending process, whether it is hot or cold, alters the properties of the pipe, and therefore different factors needs to be taken into consideration as part of the manufacturing decisions. The wider a pipe is, the smaller the ratio of distortion will be according to pipe capacity etc.
Compression occurs within the pipe as it is bent, and this can result in wrinkles or waves on the surface of the pipe which can interfere with other processes. Bending the tubing can create areas of weakness but this is dependent on the quality of the machinery used, the complexity of the bend and the skill or experience of the workmen.