Mandrel Tube Bending Explained: Enhancing Precision and Structural Integrity

As mentioned in a previous article, where we detailed the Different Types of Tube Bending, Mandrel Tube Bending is added capability to the Rotary Draw Bending process. With the capability to form tighter and exacting radii the Rotary Tube Bender can easily collapse thinner walled tubing during the forming process. By adding the internal support of a mandrel (and thus turning it into what we know as a mandrel tube bender), the tube walls can continue to hold form and shape throughout the bending process. 

There are also some basic questions to answer when using a mandrel tube bender.  Where to start with mandrel tube bending? Where should the welded seam be located when bending with a mandrel tube bender? Once you have answered these questions you may want to find Mandrel Tube Benders for sale.

Where to Start When Bending Tube

When you're just beginning with a mandrel tube bender you will need to look at the material you are working with first, then the requirements of the finished part. By knowing what your starting with and where you need to end up, you’ll begin to draw a road map of tooling setup, material handling etc of how you will eventually get there. The number of bends, the radii required, the quantity of parts and the accuracy and repeatability all will come into play on during the process.

When Bending Tube in a Mandrel Bender, Where Should the Seam Be Located?

Although some tubing is seamless, most is a seam welded fabricated part. The quality of the weld as well as its consistency is important when ordering welded tubing and as such, there is an inherent weakness along the weld line causing its position prior to forming to be critical. The most important thing to remember is to orient the seam weld in the same place for every part to ensure consistency in bending.

Find Mandrel Tube Benders for Sale

There are a variety of Mandrel Type Tube benders for sale and we at Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales offer a bender for just about every solution. From used mandrel tube benders to complete engineered high accuracy bending solutions like BLM GROUP’s unique solutions.