Source: DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 3.10

TUBE AND SECTION BENDS

THE PROCESSES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Tubing and piping are bent for many reasons. A frequent reason is the need to convey fluids around or to provide clearance from machine or structural elements. Another is to provide for expansion and contraction of tubing systems. Heat-transfer coils and tubular boiler members require bending. Tubular parts are often used as structural components in vehicles and machines and in furniture, railings, handles, etc. Bends in such members (while preserving the walls from collapse) are frequent requirements. Nontubular parts such as channels, angles, I beams, etc., require the same techniques and have similar structural applications. The common bending methods are as follows:

Compression Bending The workpiece is clamped and bent around a stationary form with the aid of a follower block or roller. There is somewhat more compressive force than elongation on the workpiece (although there is still elongation on the outer portion of the bend), and the methods name is derived from this fact. See Fig. 3.10.1 for an illustration of the process. Compression bending is a common method, often performed by hand, on tubing or other sections of heavier wall thickness and larger bending radius. Thin-walled tubing usually is not bent by this method. The normal minimum centerline radius for compression bends is 4 times the tubing diameter. With thinner-walled tubing with good support, bend radii as small as 212 times diameter can be used. Bend angles range up to 170 per bend. Since there is little stretching of the FIGURE 3.10.1 Compression bending. The folouter surface, plated and painted tubing lower block wipes the tubing around the stationary bending form. can be bent with this method.
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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS 3.144 FORMED-METAL COMPONENTS

Draw Bending In this method, the workpiece is clamped against a bending form as in compression bending, but the bending form rotates, drawing the workpiece through a pressure die and, in many cases, over a mandrel. This method is suitable for thin-walled tubing, especially when bent to a small radius. It provides closer control over the workpiece than other bending methods. Draw bends are made when dimensional requirements are stringent (e.g., in the aircraft industry) or when tight bends of thin-walled tubing are required. Tubing 12 to 250 mm (12 to 10 in) in diameter can be processed by draw bending. While bend radii as close as one diameter can be achieved, they require considerable extra care, a closefitting internal mandrel, and external dies and shoes. Draw bending is more common than compression bending when powered equipment is employed. Bends up to 180 can be made. Ultrasonic vibration, sometimes applied to the tools or workpiece, greatly diminishes the friction between the tooling and workpiece. This enables tubing of difficult-to-bend materials to be processed more easily and bent to a tighter radii.

Ram-and-Press Bending With this method, a workpiece is placed between two supports, and a rounded-form die (ram or punch) is pressed against it. The two supports pivot as the ram moves forward, maintaining support of the workpiece. This method, though it provides less control over metal flow, is nonetheless rapid. It is used in production applications on heavy tubing or pipe and rolled or extruded sections whenever some distortion of the workpiece section is permissible and rapid production is important. Figure 3.10.2 illustrates the process. With currently available machines, ram-and-press bending is applied to pipe and tubing from 10 to 350 mm (38 to 14 in) in diameter. The method is suitable for bends of up to 165. Extremely heavy sections can be bent. The minimum centerline bending radius for ram bending is 3 times diameter unless deformation or collapsing of the bent section is permissible (as in some structural applications); 4 to 6 times diameter is a preferred radius.

FIGURE 3.10.2 Ram-and-press bending. (Courtesy Teledyne Pines.)

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS TUBE AND SECTION BENDS 3.145

Roll Bending This method employs three or more grooved rollers arranged so that the workpiece passing between them is bent to a curved shape. The process can be used to form rings or continuous coils but is limited to heavy-walled workpieces. With currently available equipment, roll bending is applicable to pipe up to 200 mm (8 in) in diameter. The minimum-bend radius is normally about 4 times tubing diameter. Greater values (6 times or more) are preferred. Full circles and coils are easily made with this approach, but straight sections must be allowed for on both ends of the bend.

Stretch or Tension Bending With this method, the workpiece is stretched longitudinally to the yield point and is then wrapped around a form or die. (See Fig. 3.10.3.) The method is not rapid but has less springback than other methods and can produce bends of nonuniform radius. A mandrel is not required, and the method is useful for nontubular cross sections.

FIGURE 3.10.3

Stretch bending.

Wrinkle Bending

In this method, a series of wrinkles is deliberately made on one side of the tubing. The wrinkles cause a shortening of this side, which then becomes the inside of the bend. Wrinkling is induced by heating a localized area by gas torch while applying an axial compressive force to the tube. This type of bend can be applied to heavy-wall and large pipe. It is particularly adapted to field conditions in which bending equipment is not available. Pipe of 50 to 650 mm (2 to 26 in) except wrought- and cast-iron pipe can be bent by this method. The minimum centerline bend radius is about 2 times diameter.

Roll-Extrusion Bending This process creates a large-radius bend in large, heavy-walled pipe by internally swaging the pipe wall on one side. This causes the wall to elongate and the pipe to bend. Bends are distortion-free. The minimum centerline bend radius is 3 times diameter. A straight section of 50 mm (2 in) or more for a 125-mm- (5-in-) diameter pipe must be allowed between bends. Successive bends in different planes are feasible. Only pipe and tubing can be processed with this method. Current commercial equipment has diameter capacities of from 125 to 300 mm (5 to 12 in).

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS 3.146 FORMED-METAL COMPONENTS

ECONOMIC PRODUCTION QUANTITIES

Tube- and section-bend specifications are seldom dictated by production-quantity economics. Rather, functional requirements of the workpiece determine whether bending operations will be specified. Except for simple bends in solid sections, a certain amount of fitted form blocks, follower blocks, and wiper shoes are required regardless of the production quantity. If the weight or size of the workpiece is sufficient, power bending equipment is required. If close-radius, tight-tolerance bends are required in thin-walled tubing on an experimental or small-quantity order, bending forms and blocks may be made from hardwood or fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. Sand, rosin, or low-melting-temperature alloys are used for internal support in place of a mandrel. The identical part, if produced on a higher-production basis, would probably be bent on a powered draw bender with hardened and chromium-plated bending blocks, pressure dies, and a ball-type mandrel. Press-and-ram benders are used for the highest-production applications, especially when bend radii are generous and some distortion of the bent part is permissible. Automobile muffler piping is an example. Production rates of 1000 bends per hour are feasible with hydraulic presses; higher rates are possible with mechanical presses. Production draw-bending machines have production-rate capacities that vary with the size of machine. Machines rated for 50-mm- (2-in-) diameter tubing, for example, can produce 200 bends per hour; those rated for 25-mm (1-in) tubing can produce 600 bends per hour. Production compression-bending machines may be somewhat faster, up to 900 bends per hour. Stretch bending is considerably slower than the above processes and generally is not used in high-production conditions. Roll-extrusion bending of extra large, heavy pipe is a slow process (1 h per bend) but nevertheless is considerably faster than the hot-bending methods that otherwise would be necessary.

SUITABLE MATERIALS
Generally, the more ductile materials and those in the fully annealed state bend most satisfactorily. (Sometimes, however, some deviation from the dead-soft condition is preferred to help avoid collapse of the outer wall.) Ductility is particularly important for small-radius bends when the percentage elongation of the outer surface is very large. Table 3.10.1 lists various common metals in the order of increasing ductility (percentage elongation). Those capable of higher elongation are more suitable for smallradius bends. Compression bending does not require as much ductility as draw bending because there is less elongation on the outer surface of the bend. Wrinkle bending is suited to all ferrous pipe except cast and wrought iron. Aluminum, copper, and brass materials are also applicable to the process. Comments on the suitability of certain common tubing materials for bending follow. 1. Steel tubing. This tubing bends easily. Welded tubing with internal flashing may cause problems if mandrel bending is required. Seamless steel tubing may give problems if the wall thickness is not uniform.

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS TUBE AND SECTION BENDS TABLE 3.10.1 Percentage Elongation (Small-Radius Bendability) of Various Metals Material* High-carbon steel as rolled; aluminum alloys 2014 (A92014), 2011 (A92011), and 2024 (A92024); magnesium alloys AZ61A (M11610) and AZ31B (M11311) High-carbon steels, chromium steels, nickel steels, aluminum 1100 (A91100) Low-carbon steels as rolled, chromium-vanadium steels, aluminum 1060 (A91060) Stainless steels 332 (N08800) and 904L (N08904) Low-carbon steel; stainless steels 302 (S30200), 304 (S30200), 314 (S31400), and 316 (S31600) Oxygen-free copper (C10200) and phosphorous-deoxidized copper (C12200) Red brass (C23000), low-lead brass (C33000), silicon bronze (C65100), cartridge brass (C26000), inhibited admiralty metal (C44400 and C44500) 3.147

Percent elongation 1015

1525 2530 3035 3540 4050 5065

*Unless otherwise noted, all materials listed are in the annealed condition.

2. Steel pipe. This pipe is bent easily but, for best results, it should be free from internal and external scale. 3. Galvanized and aluminized tubing. These are suitable for bending, but the former is limited to bend radii larger than 4 times diameter. 4. Copper and copper-alloy tubing. Especially in the annealed condition these are very easily bent. The copper-nickel alloys are not as bendable and have greater springback. (Other copper alloys, if annealed, have very little springback.) 5. Aluminum tubing. This tubing is easily bendable but may tear or collapse if it is in the soft condition. Anodized coatings generally bend without damage. 6. Stainless-steel tubing. This tubing is frequently bent and is generally more suitable for bending than low-carbon steel. The 300 Series is the most common variety for bent-tubing applications.

DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
When specifying bends in tubing and other sections, the designer should bear in mind the following points: 1. Even when the proper material has been specified and good tooling and equipment are available, tight bends (small radii) and large-angle bends are more troublesome and more costly than large-radius bends with less severe angles. The designer should specify the gentlest and shallowest bend that serves the function of the part. 2. If possible, design with large enough bend radii so that a mandrel is not required, since mandrel bending is slower and more expensive. Table 3.10.2 lists minimum radii for bending steel tubing without a mandrel.

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS 3.148 TABLE 3.10.2 FORMED-METAL COMPONENTS Minimum Centerline Radii for Bending Steel Tubing without a Mandrel Minimum centerline radius, mm (in) Wall thickness, mm (in) Tubing outside diameter, mm (in) 5 (3 16) 6 ( 1 4) 8 (5 16) 10 (3 8) 13 (1 2) 19 (3 4) 25 (1) 38 (11 2) 50 (2) 64 (21 2) 76 (3) 0.9 (0.035) 8 (5 16) 13 (1 2) 22 (7 8) 38 (11 2) 57(21 4) 100 (4) 200 (8) 1.25 (0.049) 6 ( 1 4) 10 (3 8) 19 (3 4) 32 (11 4) 50 (2) 76 (3) 150 (6) 1.65 (0.065) 5 (3 16) 8 (5 16) 16 (5 8) 28 (11 8) 44 (13 4) 64 (21 2) 100 (4) 300 (12) 2.1 (0.083) 2.4 (0.093) 3 (0.120)

25 (1) 38 (11 2) 50 (2) 76 (3) 250 (10) 600 (24)

50 (2) 200 (8) 500 (20) 600 (24)

50 (2) 150 (6) 400 (16) 500 (20) 630 (25)

Source: Based on data from Metals Handbook, vol. 4: Forming, 8th ed., American Society for Metals, Metals Park, Ohio.

3. In all cases, the minimum practicable bend radius for the bending process employed must be considered. The minimum radii for the processes covered in this chapter are summarized in Table 3.10.3. Table 3.10.4 provides recommended minimum radius values for draw-bending seamless steel tubing. These values, from one manufacturer, provide for easiest bendability by using draw-bending equipment. For magnesium tubing, see Table 2.3.17. 4. It should be borne in mind that tight bends (with a small centerline radius) are easier if the bend angle is small. (For example it is easier to make a tight bend if the part is bent 45 than it is if the part is bent 120.) 5. If a part has multiple bends in more than one plane, a straight length should be allowed between bends. The amount of this length varies for different bending methods but generally should be one or two diameters. (See Fig. 3.10.4.)
TABLE 3.10.3 Minimum Bend Radii for Various Methods: Annealed Low-Carbon Steel Tubing Bent 45 or More Method Compression Draw Ram-and-press Roll Wrinkle Roll-extrusion Tooling Forming roller Follower block Between centers With pressure or wing dies Three rolls Minimum radius, times tubing outside diameter 4 21 2 See Table 3.10.4 6 3 6 2 3

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS TUBE AND SECTION BENDS TABLE 3.10.4 Recommended Minimum Bend Radii: Draw Bending Easily Bent Tubing Wall thickness Outside diameter, mm (in) 1324 (1 27 8) mm 0.9 1.25 1.65 0.9 1.25 1.65 1.25 1.65 2.10 1.65 2.10 2.80 2.10 2.80 in 0.035 0.049 0.065 0.035 0.049 0.065 0.049 0.065 0.083 0.065 0.083 0.109 0.083 0.109 Approximate minimum centerline radius (multiple of tubing outside diameter) Without mandrel 61 2 51 2 4 9 71 2 6 81 2 7 6 9 8 7 9 81 2 Ball mandrel 21 2 2 11 2 3 21 2 2 31 2 3 21 2 31 2 3 21 2 31 2 3 Plain mandrel 3 21 2 13 4 41 2 3 21 2 41 2 31 2 3 4 31 2 3 41 2 4 Shoe-and-ball mandrel 11 2 13 4 1 2 13 4 11 2 21 4 13 4 11 2 21 2 21 4 2 3 21 2 3.149

2539 (111 2)

4054 (15 821 8)

5579 (21 43)

80100 (3144)

Source:

Courtesy Wallace Supplies Mfg. Co. Welded steel or fully annealed seamless mechanical tubing.

FIGURE 3.10.4

Allow a straight length between bends.

DIMENSIONAL FACTORS AND TOLERANCES

Springback is the major factor influencing the accuracy of the bend angle. This, in turn, is a function of material hardness, consistency of wall thickness, and section size, as well as of the bending methods. Tables 3.10.5 and 3.10.6 provide recommended bend-angle and bent-workpiece envelope tolerances.

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TUBE AND SECTION BENDS 3.150 TABLE 3.10.5 Other Sections FORMED-METAL COMPONENTS Recommended Bend-Angle Tolerances for Bends in Tubing and Bend-an gle tolerance, Method of bending Compression bending Draw bending Ram-and-press bending Roll bending Stretch bending Wrinkle bending Roll-extrusion bending Normal tolerance 2 2 3 4 2 4 2 Tightest tolerance 1 4 1 4 1 2 2 1 4 2 1 4

TABLE 3.10.6

Recommended Envelope Tolerances for Compound Tube and Section Bends Workpiece length, m (ft) 1 (3) or less 1 (3) or less 1 (3) or less 1 (3) or less 1 (3) or less 2.4 (8) or less 2.4 (8) or less Normal tolerance, mm (in) 13 (0.5) 13 (0.5) 25 (1.0) 25 (1.0) 13 (0.5) 50 (2.0) 50(2.0) Tight tolerance, mm (in) 0.8 (0.030) 0.8 (0.030) 6 (0.25) 6 (0.25) 0.8 (0.030) 13 (0.5) 13 (0.5)

Bending method Compression bending Draw bending Ram-and-press bending Roll bending Stretch bending Wrinkle bending Roll-extrusion bending

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