When you think of tubes, what do you think of? Most people think of plumbing, but there are plenty of other uses for tubes in machinery, construction, automotive, aerospace, and other applications. For instance, cars contain pipes, tubes, and hoses in order to transfer gasoline, fluids, and oil from one part of the car to another. But in order to get these tubes and pipes into their correct shapes, they are manufactured using tube bending machines to form a precise curve or angle.

What are tube bending machines? This type of tube bending equipment is used for large manufacturing jobs, especially those that involve computer numerical control or CNC tube bending machines that can store settings for complex jobs. If you’re wondering about the many types of tube bending machinery available, here are some specifications that many of these devices have.

1. Operation: Most tube bending machinery requires some kind of human interaction in order for it to work. However, the ways in which it is operated will differ depending on how it is powered. Some equipment is hydraulic or pneumatic, whereas others are powered and require computer numerical control to program the tube’s angles and curves.

2. Dies and mandrels: Tube bending dies are the blocks, sort of like molds, used to shape a tube or pipe. With the dies comes a mandrel, which is placed inside the tube to prevent it from collapsing. Some tube bending devices will requires multiple types of dies in order to hold the tube in place.

3. Temperature: Some tubes, especially when it comes to metal tube bending will require heat in order to shape or reshape the tube. For example, hot-slab forming for tubes involves placing the pipe into a furnace at 1,600 °F (870 °C) or higher, and heat induction can require anywhere from 800 to 2,200 °F (430 and 1,200 °C). Press bending, however, is used on cold pipes and tubes.

The type of tube bending machine used will depend on the type of tube being bent or formed. Manufacturers must use very specific calculations in order to properly determine how a tube should be shaped in order for an apparatus to function. Do you have questions about tube bending processes? Be sure to contact a manufacturer or leave a comment below.