There are 5 main pieces of mandrel tube bender tooling needed to perform precise bends with a mandrel tube bender; a mandrel, bend die, wiper die, clamp die, and pressure die.
Mandrel Assembly
The main piece of tooling needed for mandrel bending is, unsurprisingly, a mandrel assembly. The assembly consists of a mandrel body, mandrel nose insert, a mandrel link or insert link, mandrel screw, and (if needed) a ball subassembly.
The mandrel is used to maintain the shape of the tube while it is being bent, and it does this by providing support to the inside of the tube. Mandrels can help prevent buckling and necking during the bending process and come in a number of styles. Which style to use is most often determined by the outside diameter and the wall thickness of the tube. Some of the most common styles include a ball mandrel and the plug mandrel.
Bend Die
The bend die is the form that the tube you are bending is clamped against and then drawn around. This is the primary tool needed for the actual forming of the tube.
Wiper Die
A wiper die is only used when the tube that is being bent has a high resistance to compression. The main purpose of the wiper die is to prevent wrinkling along the bend.
Clamp Die
The purpose of the clamp die is to clamp the tubing material against the bend die as it rotates to form the bend.
Pressure Die
A pressure die holds the tube against the bend die under constant pressure at a tangent and follows the tube through the bend. The follower type of pressure travels forward during the bending process, and almost all modern rotary draw bending machines are equipped with this type of pressure.
Learn More
Click here or follow the link below to download a free introduction to tube bending to learn more, or contact us at any time with any questions or comments you may have.
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