Tube bending machines are used across industries such as plumbing, architecture, metalworking, and more. They offer users repeatability to perform even complex bends. There are many options and features available when you shop around for choosing a CNC bending machine. So, it is important to know exactly what types of equipment are beneficial for you.

There are several things to take into consideration when choosing a tube bending machine. Let’s have a look at them one by one.

1)Automation

Automation is one of the most important and easiest criteria, to begin with when searching for the right CNC tube bending machine. Before making any final decision, think about do you require a fully automatic solution? Is manual solution adequate to manufacture what you need? Or do you require a mix of both – fully automatic solution + manual solution? Think carefully and then decide as per your need.

2)Bender Types

There are different types of benders available. The most common are:

• Press Bending – It is a cheap, easiest and most common type of bending. It can be used to provide versatility in bending tubing, pipe, and bar stock.
• Roll Bending- It is a pyramid style of bending. Mostly used to produce sections such as pipe, bar, angles, and coiling applications.
• Mandrel Bending – Mostly used to produce components for headers, cold airs intakes, and furniture.
• Rotary Draw Bending – It is one of the most popular forms of tube bending. It is easiest to control, repeatable, more precise, and relatively affordable.

3)Capabilities

There are a variety of capabilities for tube bending machines. They vary from application to application. Some capabilities are very much important in specific industries while at the same time they are unnecessary in others. For example,

• Buffing and polishing is significant for industries where the tubes are perceptible to the end-user.
• Hole punching, notching, or slotting are vital in several industries where tubes must be assembled

4)Power

Power is an important factor to consider while selecting a bending machine. For example, heavy industrial tubes and pipes which are used in shipbuilding, trucking, and other heavy applications can create complex situations if the bender that is used is not getting enough power. That’s why it is essential to select a bender exclusively designed and engineered to handle the extra power requirements.

5)Precision

Precision is one of the most important things to consider when looking for an automation solution. For example, applications that have need of tremendous precision are aerospace and automotive applications

6)Complexity

This is one of the last selection criteria that you should consider. Most of the times, complexity goes hand in hand with precision. Why? It is because complex bends usually require a great deal of precision.

Signing Off

In nutshell, as per your business needs, you should always have a detailed understanding of what features you are searching for. Of course, you don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on the equipment if it rarely gets used. So, keep in mind the above-discussed criteria before making a final purchase of any bending machine.