Tube bending is a metal forming process used to permanently shape tubes or pipes into specific angles, radii or complex geometries, depending on the requirements of the application.
While round tube and pipe are most commonly bent, modern tube bending machines are also capable of forming square, rectangular and other profile sections, allowing manufacturers to meet a wide variety of structural and aesthetic design needs.
Tube bending is used across a broad range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, defence, furniture manufacture, construction and shipbuilding, where accuracy, repeatability and structural integrity are critical.
Several key factors influence the tube bending process. These include the material type and wall thickness, the centreline radius (CLR), the tooling configuration (such as bend dies, mandrels and wiper dies), the type of tube bending machine used, and the lubrication applied during bending.
The process must be carefully controlled to prevent common defects such as wrinkling on the inside of the bend, flattening or ovality of the tube cross-section, wall thinning, or cracking, particularly when working with tight radii or demanding materials.
Although tube bending is most often associated with metal tubing, similar forming principles are also applied in the bending of pipe and wire, using specialised machines and tooling designed for those applications.
Got a question? Get in touch – sales@unisonltd.com
