Bending metal tubes or pipes sounds like an easy task to those who don’t perform this job professionally, but in fact, it requires skill and attention to detail to do this job the right way.
Read More
The most important thing in the process of performing accurate bends is the bending machine, and the most important part of the machine (from the perspective of getting an accurate bend) is the roller die.
Most pipes are round, but some are not. If you’re bending a square or rectangular pipe (including square pipes with rounded corners), you’ll need a roller die suited to that shape. Some pipe bending machines also are only suited to a particular shape of pipe.
When you’re choosing the machine and the roller dies for it, you’ll need to take into account the material size of the pipe you’ll be bending, the centre line radius of the pipe (this is the bend radius between then centre of the die rotation point to the centre of the pipe), the pipe wall thickness, and the maximum degree of bend that the die can provide.
A manual pipe bending machine is very simple and only supplies mechanical advantage via the effect of a single fulcrum lever. Even so, it will usually be sufficient to provide a very good bend if the metal is not too thick.
Hydraulic pipe benders are far more complex, and much more expensive. These allow you to bend pipes that have a high pipe wall thickness because they don’t rely on the physical strength of the operator to do the job.
Electric pipe benders are best in high volume production facilities. Interestingly the difference in price may not be much more than manually operated machines, but it depends on which type you choose, and the more expensive models are likely to have more features.
Getting the wrong products is not really going to save you any money if it slows down your productivity or leads to incorrect output. Deciding the right machines and roller dies to suit your purpose is an important step. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an engineering expert because we can provide an expert from our staff to help you. All we need to know is what you need to bend, and from there, we can recommend exactly the right kind of bending machine and the right roller dies to get the result you need.
Since 1966, Asset Plant & Machinery has been a leader in the supply and servicing of industrial machinery, parts, and accessories in Australia. Today, with over 50 years of experience in the business, we are the biggest and best industrial machinery supplier in the nation.
With top quality products, affordable pricing, expert staff, and high standards in customer service, you can’t go wrong when you choose Asset Plant & Machinery as your supplier.
