Precision Bending of Thin-Walled Tubes

The subject of lightweight construction remains right at the top of the agenda of the automobile and aviation industries. Thin-walled tubes offer several advantages because on the one hand their low weight has a positive effect on fuel consumption of automobiles and airplanes. On the other hand they reach the operating temperature that is required for the catalytic conversion process of the exhaust gases faster, which in turn leads to improved CO2 values.

However, during the forming process thin-walled tubes are very demanding and prone to cracking. To meet these challenges of bending thin-walled tubing, Schwarze-Robitec GmbH (Cologne, Germany) offers optimized CNC tube bending machine tools that are equipped with a vertically traveling pressure die assembly that exercises precise bending forces on the thin-walled tubes.

Due to better adjustability of the forces, these bending machines achieve the most precise bending accuracy, even with thin-walled tubes made of titanium, aluminum, copper or stainless steels such as No. 1.4509 or 1.4512. While typical tubing has a wall thickness of 60 by 1 mm, thin-walled tubes usually have only 60 by 0.6 mm. Thse fine-tuned CNC bending machines meet these properties.

If flexible radii and efficient production of complex bent tubes are needed in one operation, CNC machine tools with multi-radius technology (MR) and with two bending heads (Twin) are the suitable choice. All machines can be integrated in existing bending cells and are fitted with our new control, which takes care of quick production.

The company, founded in 1903, is one of the leading international experts in the sector of tube bending machines and manufactured the world‘s first CNC-controlled tube bending machine back in 1977. Since 2011, it has been run by the managing directors Bert Zorn and Hartmut Stöhr from its headquarters in Cologne, which currently employs 130 people. Represented worldwide via long-term partner enterprises, more than 2,400 of its machines have been sold, with some of them having been used in unrestricted production for more than 35 years.

In addition to tube bending machines and bending tools, the company manufactures tube perforating machines, measuring stations and special machinery construction for the automotive industry, energy sector, shipbuilding, aerospace and many other industries.

Schwarze-Robitec GmbH, 51109 Cologne, Germany, +49 0221-89008-0, Fax: 0221-89008-9920, [email protected], www.schwarze-robitec.com.