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We work closely with customers at the design, manufacturing and testing stages of part development to achieve the desired outcome. Highcross Designs specialise in exhaust tooling manufacturing, including tools for tube end forming and bending. But if a tube had particularly thin walls or if the radius of the bend was particularly tight, then you may need more balls with smaller gaps between each link. Three or four-ball mandrels are typical for exhaust bending. An articulated ball mandrel manufactured urgently for a client Usually made of brass, these balls are the same diameter as the cylinder and they can flex and follow the bend radius while supporting the inside walls during the bending process.Įven with a ball mandrel, this bend my not be completely smooth, because the number and spacing of the balls can have an impact on how the tube bend looks.
Small diameter tube bending series#
One issue with these types of machines is that they exert a great deal of force on the walls of the pipe and can cause them to squash or buckle.Ī ball mandrel is a tube bending component that can be placed inside the tube, acting as a core to support the inner walls of a tube while it is bent.īall mandrels usually consist of a longer solid cylindrical section, with a series of rounded balls attached to one side with a flexible cable. One way of achieving this smooth bend is by using a machine that bends tubes by pushing them through a series of rotating wheels in a process called draw bending. To optimise airflow and exhaust performance, exhaust tubes need a smoother, more gradual bend, like the bend that you would achieve if you bent a metal tube over your knee rather than between your hands. Wrinkle bending also reduces the inside diameter of an exhaust tube, as well as creating a series of humps can affect flow and sound (but it is cheap, so it often used in high production processes). Crush bending leaves a characteristic depression along the throat of the bend, restricting airflow and harming performance Both these processes distort the pipe diameter around the bend area.Ĭrush bending leaves a characteristic depression along the throat of the bend, which reduces the airflow (and doesn’t look particularly clean either). This is a problem with some tube bending methods including crush bending and wrinkle bending. This chokes the exhaust volume, reducing the air and gas flow and decreasing performance. This buckling will reduce the cross-sectional area of the pipe. While impressive, this feat wouldn’t be particularly good for exhaust tubes because the tube can buckle at the point of bending. Some people are strong enough to bend metal pipes using only their arms. For exhaust performance junkies, only ball mandrel bending will do. This series can be used to bend both large and small radii, and is designed specifically for bending complex parts with “0” straight clamping lengths.Ĭontact us at any time to learn more our tube bending machines, or to discuss your specific tube and pipe bending application.What’s the best way to bend an exhaust pipe? Well, it depends on what you want to achieve.įor some mass-market manufacturers, peak performance isn’t as important as speedy and economical manufacturing.īut for some exhaust enthusiasts, only the best will do. The MRV Series of CNC tube benders is a more general bending machine. A CNC solution with multiple electric axes and a unique design, this bender offers brake line bending applications the flexibility and power to bend complex shapes and parts. This bender is specifically designed to bend the small tubing used for brake lines. The PT Series Wall Thinning Booster Bender is capable of bending a radius of 1xOD while strictly controlling the wall thinning during the bending process.Īnother application specific bender is the SB-OIL Tube Master line of brake line benders. These systems are high pressure systems and require any tubing used within them to be strictly controlled for wall thinning so that they can withstand the harsh demands of a high-pressure environment. This is most often the case with automotive applications like manifolds and converter inlet pipes found in the automotive exhaust system.
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Let’s look at the options for small diameter tube bending.įor some small diameter tube bending applications the challenges of bending small diameter tubing are further complicated with the need to control wall thinning. Training Solutions for Tube Forming Industryįor some applications, especially those in the automotive industry, the diameter of the tube and pipe that needs to be bent necessitates a specialty small diameter tube bender.All Electric Left And Right Tube Benders.
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