Tools for Bending

Understanding substrates and coatings, and how the coated surface interacts with tube or pipe during the bending process, is necessary to finding a cost-effective, capable combination.

Faced with a daunting bending contract and a short timeframe, Rick Williams of Rockford Process Control (RPC) sought cooperation from a tubing supplier, bending machine manufacturer, and a tooling supplier at the beginning of the project. The information exchange enabled RPC and its supply chain partners to develop a process, deliver a bender, and engineer and manufacture tooling without the benefit of tubing samples.

While bending round tube and pipe involves many variables and challenges, the difficulties in bending nonround shapes are more numerous and complicated. Among the most common shapes are square, rectangular, and oval (elliptical and flat-sided). None react to the bending force in the same way that round shapes do, so understanding how the material reacts is the first step in learning about bending nonrounds.

Tooling determines the outcome of a bending operation. Whether an application is simple or complex, matching the right tooling with the bending equipment and method will save both time and money.