Mandrels prevent flattening, wrinkles, and kinks when bending tubing, which is why mandrel tubing benders are such a popular bending solution.
Mandrel Bending Basics
Mandrel pipe bending begins with the tube being pulled over a mandrel held in a fixed position. For tubing 3/8' in diameter and smaller, a plug mandrel produces the best results. However, when the radius of the bend is smaller and/, or the wall is thinner, it becomes necessary to use a ball mandrel and wiper die to maintain the proper shape.
Why use a mandrel?
As mentioned above, mandrels help prevent some of the most common bending problems. In addition to flattening, wrinkles, and kinks, mandrels help prevent spring back. Spring back, the tendency of a metal to return to its original shape, can be excessive when a mandrel is not used.
Finding the right mandrel tubing bender
When choosing a mandrel tubing bender, there are some factors to consider. Often volume and type of tubing will help you narrow down your bender options.
We offer a number of mandrel tubing benders to help meet any bending application needs. With so many mandrel bending options available (including CNC, fully automatic, and heavy-duty options), the best way to find the mandrel tubing bender that is right for your application is to contact us and let our trained engineers help you through the bender selection process.
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.