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Are you planning to use a Ball mandrel and Wiper die to bend the pipe but do not know the process?
Here is the guide to bending tubes with ball mandrel and wiper die.
Why Use a Ball Mandrel and Wiper Die to Bend Tubing?
One of the oldest methods for bending tubing is using a ball-mandrel and Wiper die. A wiper die has a stationary wiper that wipes the ball as it rolls against it, making a near-perfect radius every time. This will ultimately help improve the bend quality of your bends.
A ball mandrel supports the tube throughout the tube bending process and is used to produce flares, tees, and reducers. The ball-end reduces friction and oxidation during bending, allowing the workpiece to be held in a tight radius while not marring the surface or allowing distortion. The result is precise bending that produces better flare control and dimensional consistency.
How to Bend Tubing with a Ball Mandrel and Wiper Die
Firstly, you must make a successful plan to bend the tube with a ball mandrel and wiper die. You need to consider the material you are going to bend. Try to source the entire material from one supplier. It will help in maintaining the consistency of the tubing dimensions and characteristics.
Start considering the machines you are going to use. The bending machine should be in the right condition and should have good quality because poor quality tooling leads to longer set-up times, more scrap, poorly bent tubes, and unacceptable bends. You need an experienced one to operate that machine.
When performing this type of bend, the piece of tooling, the Wiper Die should be accurate. The groove must be slightly larger than the O.D. of the tube ñ 10% of wall thickness as being minimum. It must be of high polish lubricated with thin oil. Too much fat or too heavy oil in this area will cause wrinkles. Wiper Dies fit to bend die groove must be 85% contact from 12:00 o’clock to 6:00 and for at least 15-20 degrees back from tangent. When the bend die does not support the Wiper Die. It will spring away from the mandrel. It can cause the tube to wrinkle.
Wrapping Up
These tools are excellent aids for bending tubing. It allows you to make consistent tapers on tubing, whether you want a tight or loose fit. The mandrels and dies will enable you to make different-sized bends and give you those custom curves that your other tools do not allow.
Delahenty Machinery is a leading manufacturer of tube bending machinery, Wiper dies, and ball mandrels. Many industries use our machines to process tubes and pipes, from ultra-pure copper and brass to hardened steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and titanium. Contact us for more details.
Each component plays a vital role in the bending tooling successful operation. Yet there are some essential components like bend die, clamp die, pressure die, wiper dies, and mandrel.
So, before diving into each bending tooling component, let us understand what tube and pipe bending is.
What is Tube and Pipe Bending
Tube and pipe bending is a manufacturing process. In this process we use a machine for bending pipes, tubes. And try to get a perfect bending shape. It allows the production of shapes that are not achievable by other processes such as roll forming, plate rolling, press brakes, or tube cutting.
We use Tube and pipe bending processes in several applications in almost every industry, such as exhaust systems, headrests, etc.
Each component plays a vital role in perfect bending in the bending tooling process, which we will discuss later in the same article.
How Tube and Pipe get bent
Bending tubes and pipes can be a daunting process for someone unfamiliar with the equipment, techniques, and safety requirements. The process requires specialized machinery, a trained, experienced operator, plenty of time, and attention to detail.
Either manually or with automated machines you can finish Tube and pipe bending process. It depends upon the type of manufacturing product. Tube bending machines are best suited for short-radius turns, while more sophisticated pipe benders make longer radius bends. With tube bender you can make fittings such as tees and crosses, but you’ll need a pipe bender for elbows and other complicated shapes.
Calculations often determine the success or failure of any bending tooling, which needs to be done before the tooling is set. Some of these calculations decide things like the ideal bend radius and others whether or not your specific equipment can even complete the bend.
Moreover, the material you are using must not be bent cold in the bending tooling process. Cold bend dies only work for materials like iron and aluminum. If your material exceeds a hardness of 101 BHN, it cannot be produced with a cold die on a press brake. The more complex your material is, the more likely you will need an induction heater to heat the bar to make a bend.
Perishable and Non-Perishable Components Of Bending Tooling sets
Tube bending components consist of both perishable and non-perishable components. Perishable components will eventually have to replace, and non-perishable components are those you won’t have to replace.
The two big pieces of perishable tooling are the wipers and the mandrel (Shank, body, nose, and ball mandrels all included). The non-perishable components include:
It is a quick, cheap and easy way to produce extreme bends in thin-walled, low conductivity metals. From the reverse side of the bend die, a blank is pushed through a groove. And then the metal’s composition is rolled into a thin sheet over the die surface and compressed. The blank is then made through the die with enough pressure to bend it and finally falls off upon reaching the exit hole of the die.
Clamp Dies
It is one of the most common hydraulic tools. There are various types and sizes of clamp dies available.
In CNC machines it is the common tool. A clamp die can create pressure and hold stationary any part that goes through the machine when machining it.
Ratcheting dies, snap-action dies, and clamping dies are synonyms of clamp die. The clamp die is essential in your bending tool kit, no matter what name it goes by. A clamp die can clamp together two die flanges to accommodate various sheet metal thicknesses without you having to resize the dies for each new material thickness.
Pressure Dies
We use pressure dies in high volume, tight tolerances, or highly high output production applications. Only High-pressure machines can create these dies. They only work if they are at the correct pressure level. Otherwise, they could cause damage to the products.
There are many pressure dies in bending tooling, each designed for a particular application or material type. Pressure dies are usually the last step in this process after a forming operation. And finally it imparts the final bend profile on the formed metal blank or part.
Wiper Die
Wiper dies are bending die inserts and mainly use for bending and forming operations. These dies most commonly used in standard shapes and sizes, and made from high-quality tool steel. While their usage can vary within the industry, their function is consistent — to remove the smaller amount of material found on the top side of a sheet. Because wiper dies to remove only the excess sheeting that presents an issue during bending, they act as a sacrificial die and will wear out quickly.
Mandrels
The mandrels in bending tooling allow a continuous bend of the pipe or tube to any desired radius. A hydraulic system operates it. In this process, you put a stack of mandrels inside the machine. Mandrel rotation arrangement work with the stack of mandrels according to the diameter and length of the products.
Final Note
This is certainly not a comprehensive guide to bending tooling, but it should help you determine if it’s the right option for your business. And as mentioned above, there are many more considerations than what we discussed here. Whether you end up opting for these tools or going with a different approach, keep in mind that the best decision is often the one that suits your specific business needs and budget.
Delahenty Machinery
At Delahenty Machinery, we make the highest quality bending tooling. Our bending tooling creates a better product faster, lowering your manufacturing costs without sacrificing quality. We’ve made it easy to find what you’re looking for with a simple call or click with a wide range of products and an exclusive package design philosophy. Contact us for more details.
There are several advantages when you bend pipe and tube with the help of a CNC mandrel. Such as, It helps to prevent spring back, which can be huge without a CNC mandrel. Somehow, like any other bending method, the CNC mandrel pipe bender process unfolds unique issues that can occur.
This blog will discuss common CNC mandrel pipe bending problems and the easy and seamless way to solve them with a particular setup and specifications.
General problems you face during CNC mandrel pipe bending
The issue with the Pipe bending process
To get the perfect bend, all you need to do first is check the mandrel position and shift the mandrel back from the tangent. Move mandrel until the hump goes away. In case if it does not work, you can ensure the free movement of the pressure die. You need to keep a check on the forces on the pressure die.
It may be possible that it also does not work. Then you need to check the mandrel ball size if it is correct as per bending specification or not. If it is not, adjust the size as per the bending need. The final solution we have is when all these methods do not work. You need to check that the CNC mandrel pipe bending process is suitable for the pipe material you are using. It can be the cause of not getting a perfect bend.
The issue of pipe collapse
CNC mandrel pipe bender has several advantages. Such as, It helps to prevent spring back, which can be huge without a CNC mandrel.
Thirdly, Check how many mandrel balls you are using for the CNC mandrel pipe bending process and how much you should use. In case if all these parts are working correctly and sufficient for the application. Then observe the drag and adjust it as needed.
Delahenty Machinery
We are here to help you with powerful machinery for pipe bending. With a range of brands like CNC, YLM and much more, Delahenty machinery only delivers good products. Contact us for more details.
Not Art and Science serve alone; Patience must in work be shown.
Well said. As an Australian machinery manufacturing owner, the first thing that comes into my mind after reading this is the Pipe Bending process. In my experience, bending pipes and tubes contain both science and arts. And with a bit of patience, you can get good quality results.
At the start, we went through a lot of trial and error, but ultimately, we succeeded. And it was necessary also because now my team and I know the preeminent things you should keep in your mind before the pipe bending process.
I am mentioning some knowledgeable points that will help you and your team command pipe and tube bending skills.
Consider these essential points before bending tubes and pipes.
Choose the angle for pipe bending wisely.
Generally, when you bend a tube or pipe to a certain degree, it will try to come back to its original shape and will get success with 3 to 4 degrees. Let’s say if you bend a pipe at 60 degrees, it will rebound a few degrees less than 60 degrees in some time. So, to get a perfect bend of 60 degrees, bend the pipe at 63 degrees. In this way, you will get a robust and elite desired angle of 60 degrees.
Use mandrel to avert flat toned bend.
Do you know about Flat toned Bend? A Flat toned bend contains a thinner tube wall, and the radius of the curve becomes tighter. The reason behind this bend is the outside wall of the pipe which is not thick enough to support itself in the bending process and ends up with collapses.
Ball and Plug mandrel can help you with a flat toned bend. You can put this inside the pipe and allow the tube during the bending process. Simple plug mandrels or segmented ball type mandrels can be used.
Use wiper dies to avert buckling and wrinkling.
Generally, as a manufacturer, we all face thin walls and minor bend radii issues while bending pipes and tubes. I have a solution for this problem. Try wiper die to prevent buckling and wrinkling in turning. You just need to place the wiper die in the back of the bend die using its tip at the tangent point. When the wiper dies encountering the friction force during the bending process, it gets operationally compatible with tubing material. This is how the use of wiper die material can lead to pleasing after unnumbered bending cycles.
Apply sufficient clamping pressure
Immense pressure in the pipe bending process plays an important role. Specifically, the tube can slip in the clamp die in an old set of tools if you put little pressure. As a result, you can get unpleasant deformations like kinks and wrinkles inside of the bend and will get a useless workpiece. Therefore, it is essential to put much pressure on pipe bending tools to prevent wrinkles.
Delahenty Machinery: Bend your tubes and pipes with our best tools
We understand the need for robust and seamless machinery. That is why we offer you.
Solid Wiper Dies
Tip Style Wiper Dies
Mandrel Links and Balls
MACKMA and YLM pipe bending machines
Check our website and contact us for more details.
Buying a tube bending machine was an arduous task for a manufacturing industry owner earlier. Nowadays, you can quickly get these bending equipment at various designs and prices. But because of ignorance to cost saving for other unidentified reasons, entrepreneurs generally make the wrong decision while buying tube bending machines.
Ideally, if you are an entrepreneur, you should know that the right tube bending machines are essential for good quality bends. A small mistake may lead to lousy quality bends, which endanger the application that uses them. And most importantly, these mistakes can end up in a bad reputation for your company. Here we introduce you to some other common mistakes that you should avoid while using a tube bending machine.
Four things to keep in mind before buying Tube Bending Machine
A powerful bending machine is a priority.
Monetary investment is one of the essential considerations when buying a tube bending machine. Yet, it would help if you focused more on the quality and seamlessness of machinery than the price you need to pay. Specifications of the tube, Precision required, Rigidity or softness of tubes and Usage interval of the machine are essential things you should care about more than the cost of machinery.
Check machinery features
There are so many machines available of various brands. But they may have different features. Here you need to understand their characteristics and seamlessness before selecting tube bending machinery. Firstly, analyze multiple risks and challenges you can face while using these machineries. Then it would be best if you opted for it.
Use a bending machine till suggested capacity.
There are so many grades of steel that have different tolerance capacities. So, It is advised not to use the tube bending machine to its maximum. Otherwise, It can lend you with so many problems with machinery. Delahanty machinery advises you to buy a tube bending machine that offers 10 to 20 per cent leeway.
Choose machinery as per bending.
You can get manual pipe bending machines at affordable prices. But if you are buying it to save money, then it will bring bad results. You need to check the bending volume and then decide whether you should take manual tube bending machines or automatic tube bending machines.
YLM All electric L&R smart turn tube bender CNC20MS-RLP-AE-7A
Buy robust tube bending machines on Delahanty Machinery
It has been more than 55 years since Delahanty Machinery is offering good quality tube bending machines. You can buy any tube bender machine at affordable prices, from full-electric tube benders to semi-auto tube benders. Contact us for more details.
CNC Tube Bending Machine can assist you with perfect bends for tubes and pipes for a long time. Using powerful technology, it can control the distance between bends, the bending plane of the tube or pipe, the bending angles and improve quality and repeatability.
If we compare CNC tube bender with manual bending, its automatic tube bending process can be more complex and enhance the overall operating system. Read on to know more.
As per the Tube Bending Machine Market report released by the world’s leading research company Technavio in 2018, the global bending machine market will grow by five per cent by 2022.
Five Benefits of CNC Tube Bending Machines
No distortions with CNC Tube Bending Machines
With the help of CNC Tube Bending machines, you can manufacture pipes and tubes without deformation and wrinkles for applications like automotive, motorcycles, trains, trucks, buses etc. They can control bending angles, complex bend formulas, and tool specifications to create consistent, precise multi bend parts.
Get quality material with the CNC Tube Bending Machine
The best advantage of CNC tube bending machines is to sustain the ovality and section integrity of pipes and tubes. And it is essential because pipes and tubes are used in precise manufacturing processes for such things as Automotive and shipbuilding manufacture
Seamless Tube Bending Machine for all Businesses
With time, complex bending has become commonplace with CNC Tube Bending Machines. These tube benders have the superior solution for all business requirements. Whether the radius is tight or large, CNC Tube Bending Machines can manufacture pipe and tube components for specific users.
Save time and money both with Tube Bending Machine
It is a cost-effective solution for your industrial business. When you use Tube Bending Machines, you do not need to purchase many single bend tubes and joining components. Moreover, you do not require welding technicians for the tube bending process. CNC Tube Benders can do it with its automated solution for your business. It is how you can save your precious time and money
CNC Tube Benders assured Safety
As a manufacturing owner, Safety can be your biggest concern. But with CNC Tube Bending Machines, you increase the safety of the working environment and increase production and bent part scrap rates.
Delahenty Machinery is the best source for a reliable CNC tube bending machine. Contact us today to speak with a tube bending specialist and visit our website for more details.
