| Four ways to bend metal tubes, beams and pipes | | | | choose this when it suits their specifications. |
| Even as a child, you were probably bending metal. | | | | Mandrel to bend metal |
| You might have been bending metal paper clips, | | | | Mandrel bending is also fairly well known. In this |
| or even your parents' cutlery. Or you might have | | | | process, a metal shaft, or mandrel, is fitted inside |
| preferred making pipe-cleaner clowns. Or you | | | | the steel tube or pipe. As the mandrel moves, it |
| could have just stuck to bending the toothpaste | | | | bends the metal around the appropriate sized die |
| tube (They were metal back then, weren't they?). | | | | to form the radius. |
| One thing is for certain, the metal you were | | | | Mandrel works best when the steel tube or pipe |
| bending as a child was not steel beams or tubes, | | | | has a heavy wall and/or requires a tight radius |
| and it never had to be strong enough to hold up a | | | | because it prevents the material from rippling. |
| stadium roof or a roller coaster. | | | | Mandrel can only bend steel tubing up to 180 |
| As adults, we rely on curved metal beams, pipe, | | | | degrees, but it produces a bend that is uniform all |
| tubes, and angles in everything from a simple | | | | the way up and down the pipe or tube. Obviously, |
| park bench to spiral staircases to some parts of | | | | this process is of little use for bending metal |
| modern skyscrapers. Visit any airport or museum | | | | beams or sheets, however, it is used in bending |
| built in the past couple decades and count the | | | | exhaust pipes, molten glass and in very tiny |
| number of curved metal structures you find. | | | | cases, jewelry. |
| Have you ever wondered how they do it? I | | | | Press to bend metal |
| mean, how can you bend a steel beam and still | | | | The Press method is the third way to bend metal. |
| keep the strength to support an airport roof? | | | | The steel tube, pipe, channel, bar or steel beam is |
| Well, there are four ways. | | | | fed through the press, which applies pressure |
| Rolling to bend metal | | | | every 6 or 7 inches until the material is bent to |
| Rolling is the best known way to bend metal, | | | | specifications |
| perhaps because it is the least costly. Rolling uses | | | | Press is used to bend bigger, heavier beams, |
| an appropriate size die that adjusts to the steel | | | | pipes, channels, bars or tubes (24 inches or |
| tube, angle, pipe, channel, bar or steel beam and | | | | thicker) that do not require a very tight radius. |
| revolves at the same peripheral speed, turning in | | | | This is a less common process than rolling or |
| opposite directions. As the metal passes through | | | | mandrel. However, it is capable of producing large, |
| the roll, the machine applies pressure to bend the | | | | load-bearing steel support beams used for |
| tubing or the beam to the desired radius. | | | | schools, roofing, skyscrapers, gymnasiums, malls |
| Rolling is effective when the material - metal, | | | | and bridges. |
| plastic, glass, whatever - must be bent a great | | | | Table forming to bend metal |
| deal. For instance, it can produce bends up to 360 | | | | Table forming is the fourth process. The steel |
| degrees. This method is ideal for producing steel | | | | tube, pipe, or beam is laid out straight and the |
| coils, spiral staircases and the like. | | | | ends are pulled around the appropriate sized die to |
| There are different kinds of rolling processes. Hot | | | | form the radius. |
| rolling (above the recrystallization temperature) | | | | Table forming is used primarily to bend smaller, |
| mostly produces sheet metal. Most non-ferrous | | | | heavier steel tubes, pipes, channels, bars or steel |
| metal structures are rolled cold, but steel is usually | | | | beams that require a tight radius. |
| rolled hot. | | | | But if all that metal bending is too much for you, |
| Because rolling requires less set-up work and uses | | | | pick up those pipe cleaners and wow your kids |
| pre-made dies, the cost is less than other ways | | | | with the colorful pipe-cleaner clowns you can form |
| to bend and form steel, so companies often | | | | by bending metal at home. |