Tube Bending

Merge MFG is Nebraska's authority for small to medium size custom tube bending. Merge offers tube bending services on tubing of all shapes and materials ranging in size from Ø.250 to Ø3.00" at radii as tight as 1x the tube diameter. Our state-of-the-art, CNC controlled, hybrid-electric tube bender ensures that we can deliver the highest quality bent tubes at the lowest cost and shortest lead times.

Thanks to the advanced bending equipment we use and our ability to quickly design and fabricate custom tooling; we can bend channels, oval tubing, or custom extrusions in addition to traditional round, square, and rectangular tubes and solid materials. We have a large supply of stock tubing and pipes for all applications, and our close relationships with our material suppliers allows us to order just about any material for any job.

Depending on material, size, bend radius, and bend quality desired we can choose from three styles of bending; Compression, Draw Bending, or Interpolation.

The most cost effective option when working in thicker walled tubes or solid materials up to 1.5" is compression bending. Compression bending is generally good for a bend radii of 4-8x the material OD for tubes, and 3-9x the material OD for solid. This style of bending is fast, accurate, and the tooling is generally less expensive than draw bending.

For thinner walled tubes, tighter radii, or larger solid materials we use rotary draw bending. This style of bending has more tooling components, and their sole purpose is to increase the support of the tube wall so that during bending it doesn't distort or buckle. This style of bending can allow for bend radii of down to 1x the material diameter in tubes, provided the material has high enough elongation. Basic draw bend dies consist of the die, clamps, and sliding rear supports. As bend radius or wall thickness decreases, we add a mandrel inside of the tube to support the tube wall on the outside of the bend. This will reduce or eliminate the flattening that happens on the outside of a tube as it is bent. As the radius or wall thickness continues to decrease the mandrel is changed from the simple plug type, to one with one, two, three, or more articulating balls. The ball mandrel provides even more support to the outside of the tube during bending. In addition to a ball mandrel, a wiper die may be added to pull out the wrinkling that occurs on the inside of the bend.

The final style of bending is interpolation. This style of bending involves using a compression die set and pushing the material past the die while using the front clamping roller on the bend arm to create radii of 7x the material OD or more. This capability allows us to mix tight bends with rolled radii on a single part accurately, quickly, and very cost effectively. Because there is no secondary process or machine to create the larger radii; the tooling, setup, and part costs drop dramatically. Unlike a tube rolling machine which would normally do large radii work on tubes, our machine gives us the ability to precisely control the rotation of the tube. This allows us create truly unique designs, such as heater coils with varying spacing, flowing multi-radii furniture components, more aerodynamic structural components, or anything else you can imagine.

Contact us today to discuss your needs and how we can best serve you. Our bending experts are here to help, even during your part design process if desired, and will always work with you to ensure you get the part you need for the best price.