Unison installs all-electric pipe bender at Newport News Shipbuilding

Unison, Scarborough, U.K., has commissioned what the company says is the largest all-electric tube bending machine ever produced at Virginia-based Newport News Shipbuilding, a supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines to the U.S. Navy.

The machine can generate more than 265,000 lb.-ft. of torque and can bend piping up to 8 in. NPS with an OD of 8.625 in. and Sch. 80 wall thickness of 0.5 in.

According to the manufacturer, the all-electric, servomotor-controlled bender offers software-controlled setup and right-first-time precision bending with high accuracy and repeatability. A laser-based system automatically measures and adjusts bend angles for springback of the pipe metal.

Unison is represented in the U.S. by Chicago-based Innovative Tube Equipment Corp.