During the construction of many structures, it becomes necessary to construct a frame constructed from profile pipes. For assembly arched structures In greenhouses, greenhouses, canopies, canopies and other objects, profile pipes are pre-bent using pipe benders or profile benders. However, you can do without this expensive tool, armed with an ordinary grinder and a welding machine. Learn more about how to bend profile pipe without using a profile bender, you can decide whether to purchase it. Maybe, alternative ways Pipe bending will be much more difficult to complete the required amount of work. When bending profile pipes, it is important to avoid the appearance of kinks and cracks, as well as their flattening.

This video shows how simply and relatively quickly you can bend a profile pipe with a manual pipe bender. Achievement of the required radius is checked by measuring the distance between the ends of the profile pipe.

What units can make the operation easier?

Option #1 - compact manual pipe benders

Acquisition manual pipe benders It is only advisable if a small amount of material is to be bent. As professional tool These models cannot be used due to low productivity and the need to approximately adjust the bending radius of each product. This machine usually comes with several replaceable rollers, through the installation of which the profile pipe is bent depending on the size of its cross-section.

To achieve the desired bending angle, it is necessary to run the pipe through the machine several times. In this case, each time you have to manually tighten the central roller, lowering it lower and lower. The side rollers remain in a stationary position, so the metal profile bends under the pressure of the central roller.

One of the models manual profile benders, allowing you to bend a profile pipe on your own in several runs metal product between the side and central rollers

When working with a manual pipe bender, a person will have to use physical effort. The equipment cannot be used for bending profile pipes whose cross-section exceeds 40 mm.

Option #2 - electric pipe benders for the pros

Unlike manual pipe benders electric models provide high-precision pipe bending. The fact is that the bending radius is set with an accuracy of 1 degree mechanically or electronically. The use of this expensive, productive equipment allows us to process a large number of profile pipes per shift. Typically, owners of electromechanical pipe benders provide services to the public, which you should use if you are satisfied with their cost.

An electromechanical profile bender, installed permanently in the workshop, ensures precise bending of profile pipes of different sections along a strictly specified radius

The disadvantages of electric profile benders include their heavy weight and high cost, inaccessible to the average buyer.

Alternative methods of bending profile pipes

Method #1 - grinder + welding machine

How to bend a profile pipe under the right angle with your own hands, without using factory machines? If you have an angle grinder and a welding machine, then you can bend according to the following algorithm:

• calculate the radius of curvature according to a pre-drawn diagram;
• in the place where the pipe is supposed to bend circular saw(with a grinder) several transverse cuts are made;
• holding the pipe in a vice, they begin to bend it in the desired direction, applying a little physical force;
• then the cuts are welded with a welding machine, not forgetting to comply with safety requirements;

Welding seams are ground.

A circular saw or grinder mounted on a special sole is necessary to make several cuts at the bend of the profile pipe

Method #2 - blank and sand

You can bend the profile pipe along the required radius using another simple way. To do this, prepare sand, which must be sifted and dried, if necessary. Then one end of the profile pipe is closed by driving a wooden wedge into it. Sifted sand is poured inside the profile, clogging the entrance to the pipe on the other side. After this, the product begins to be bent around a metal blank having a suitable diameter. One end of the profile is fixed securely between the pins, and the other is pulled.

Important! To facilitate the process of bending the profile along a small radius, it is necessary to heat the deformation site with a gas burner. The poured sand ensures the integrity of the walls of the metal product during mechanical impact on the pipe.

Having completed the bending process, they begin to remove the clogged wedges by burning or knocking them out. Sand is also completely removed from the pipe cavity. As you can see, homemade methods are more troublesome, so they can be used in practice for one-time bending of pipes.

IN winter time sand can be replaced with water, which is poured into a profile pipe and the product is exposed to frost. It is clear that the ends of the profile are plugged with plugs. After the liquid freezes in the pipe, they begin to bend it according to a pre-prepared blank template.

A metal blank used by craftsmen to bend profile pipes with their own hands without the use of special equipment in the form of pipe benders

Method #3 - bending pipes with a square spring

A spring having a cross-section of the same shape, but of a smaller size, prevents the walls of the profile pipe from deforming when bent. The spring is made of steel wire, the diameter of which is selected based on the thickness of the walls. The spring should easily fit inside the pipe. The planned bend location is heated with a blowtorch or gas burner. Heated profile walls are easier to bend. To prevent burns, you must work in special protective gloves and hold the product with pliers. A blank or metal pins driven into the ground in a circle helps to achieve the desired bending radius.

Brief summary

As you can see, all the artisanal methods invented by craftsmen for bending profile pipes require time and effort. However, obtaining an even bend is not guaranteed one hundred percent. Quality metal frame directly affects the strength and beauty of the structure being erected. Therefore, you should not neglect the services of professionals who have special equipment for bending pipes. Buying a manual machine for bending profile pipes will allow you not to spend money on paying for third-party services. The purchase will quickly pay for itself if you start bending custom pipes yourself.

During the construction of small architectural forms When making canopies, awnings, or installing heating (water supply) systems, home craftsmen are faced with the need to bend a corrugated pipe.

In the mass production of metal structures, especially in specialized workshops, industrial pipe benders are used.

Such devices allow you to quickly and without defects bend a corrugated pipe measuring from 20 to 40 mm. However, purchasing pipe bending equipment for a one-time use is unprofitable; in some cases it is cheaper to go to a workshop and pay for the work of forming the profile. If this option does not suit you, consider ways to bend a profile pipe at home.

Features of molding pipes with a square (rectangular) cross-section

Unlike a round pipe, in which the tension of the material occurs relatively evenly, the profile has angles of 90°. The inner part of the profile cannot bend without deforming the side walls. As a result, folds are formed on the inner radius, and tears are possible on the outside.

Without going into the technology of how to bend a pipe without a pipe bender, many homemade craftsmen spoil the workpieces or damage the strength structure of the material.

The basic rule is to avoid critical bends, or to force (programmed) deformation of the material.

In industrial pipe benders, to evenly distribute the load, a stamping is formed on inside radius. For this purpose, a special boss is provided on the rollers or mandrel (depending on the design of the pipe bender).

All “excess” metal is bent inward without forming folds. As a result, the load is distributed evenly, and bend square pipe possible at a fairly small radius.

We bend profiled pipes correctly without additional costs

There are many ways to bend a profile pipe at home without using an industrial pipe bender.

Sector welding

This method is available subject to availability. welding machine. You will also need a grinder, but you can get by with a hacksaw. The essence of the method is to make evenly distributed sector cuts along the inside.

The amount of material is reduced, and you don’t have to worry about the formation of folds and tears in the metal. After cutting out the sectors, the profile easily takes the given shape, and the resulting cuts are welded using any available method.

The method is labor-intensive, but you can bend the pipe to any radius, including a variable radius. If you are an experienced welder, the tightness and strength characteristics of the workpiece will not deteriorate.

Profile pipes are indispensable in the process of assembling frames for building structures. Greenhouses, various greenhouses, gazebos and other objects are built with their help quickly and efficiently. However, everything is not so simple.

To bend such a pipe, you have to use expensive special equipment, which is not always acceptable for home handyman. Let's talk about how to bend a profile pipe at home.

A profile pipe is considered to be one that has a different round section. It can be rectangular, oval, hexagonal or square. The pipe has increased strength, because its edges take on the role of stiffeners.

Profile products can withstand significant bending loads, making them good choice for the construction of the metal frame of buildings itself for various purposes.

The raw material for the production of profile pipes is most often high or low alloy steel. Depending on the manufacturing method, electric-welded, cold-rolled, hot-rolled, and seamless pipes are distinguished.

Products vary in wall thickness and profile height. Such pipes can be used to make various parts in the form of frames, stairs and railings. Most often, profile pipes are used in construction for the construction of arched structures and as a replacement iron beam during the construction of frames.

Skills in bending profile pipes will be useful to home craftsmen who want to independently equip a suburban area:

Image gallery

The simplest devices for cold bending

Let's look at how to make two very simple devices yourself that will help you bend a profile pipe.

Profile mandrel

The basis for the device will be a workbench. It is important that not only work zone, but the space around her was free. To secure the mandrel, you will have to make several closely spaced holes in one edge of the workbench table top.

The actual mandrel or template is made of plywood. However, this option is only acceptable if several parts are to be completed.

The simplest pipe mandrel is made of thick plywood or board. This template is enough for several bends.

If you need to bend a large number of pipes according to this template, it is best to make the mandrel from a steel angle. In some cases, the profile product must be bent at different angles.

For such work you will need several templates, which should be prepared in advance. Before starting work, the mandrel is firmly attached to the base using clamps.

The pipe to be bent is securely fixed to its edge. After which bending is carried out. The operation is performed smoothly, without sudden jerks. The force applied to the pipe should increase gradually. During the bending process, the part takes the shape of a mandrel. This will require significant effort.

Advanced bending plate

This is a convenient multifunctional device that allows you to perform high-quality profile bending with your own hands. The device is a durable metal base plate mounted on a pedestal. The latter is fixed to the workshop floor using fastening bolts.

Set of steel mandrels for different radii

Plywood disposable blanks

Mandrel for narrow profile pipe

As an option, you can consider a similar device mounted on a workbench. After work, the bending plate can be easily dismantled and put away, or you can use it as a stand for other metalworking operations.

To make such a device you will need a thick metal plate. It is welded onto a telescopic stand. For bending stops, two holes are made on the base plate.

Stop bolts are installed in them. Nozzles of various radii are put on and fixed on them, which allows you to bend the pipes as needed. A pressure plate is cut from thick sheet steel.

It is advisable to equip the bending plate with a pressure plate made of durable metal. This will help maintain alignment profile part during bending process

Its use is mandatory so that the alignment of the part being bent is not disturbed, since bending a profile pipe without a pipe bender can accidentally deform it in two different directions. The plate is secured above the nozzles with stop bolts.

The simplest way to bend a profile pipe:

There are quite a few ways to manually bend profiled pipes. And they all have a common drawback: a very large force is required to bend them. A physically unprepared master may not be able to cope with such work. Bending parts using specialized devices much simpler, more accurate and does not require much physical effort.

The problem is that the cost of such equipment is quite high. Therefore, buying a device just to perform a one-time job is certainly unprofitable. The best option– rental of specialized equipment, which will allow you to obtain profile products bent exactly according to the template for a small fee.

When the greenhouse frame is made of rolled pipes with a square or rectangular cross-section, it is very reliable and its service life is quite long. In this article we will talk about how to bend a profile pipe so that the arched structure for your greenhouse turns out to be correct, reliable, and inexpensive.

Due to the fact that the metal structure is much thinner compared to wood, there is more natural light in the greenhouse. This material is also more technologically advanced. While constructing arched greenhouse, the profile needs to be bent. It bends for an arch that runs vertically from the base up, and in the middle, in an arcuate manner. For example, if you choose a Mitlider greenhouse, the strength of the frame will be ensured by connecting the posts and beams. In dome-shaped greenhouses, the structures consist of polygonal frames (aluminum/metal), but they are quite difficult to assemble on your own.

Himself frame material is selected “for the design” of the entire structure and its dimensions. If you are going to build an arched greenhouse, the frame of which is made of metal rather than plasterboard, prepare:

• flexible rods (for half-arches) - one and a half meters long, in the amount of 12 pieces;
• for a building 1.8 m high - 10 pieces of rods, the length of which is 2 meters and the diameter is 30 millimeters;
• To make a frame, you must begin by identifying the holes for the rods; sometimes you need to bend a square pipe, in which the cross-section is 20 by 20 and the diameter will be three meters.

You will need these tools:

• bending machine;
• profile pipes;
• tape measure, simple pencil;
• Bulgarian;
• welding.

You can make a bending machine yourself; you actually need to bend the profile pipe on it. Scroll it with the handle. It will take a lot of effort, even when the wall thickness of the material is about two millimeters, because it’s not like folding drywall! If you don’t have a machine, you can bend it with your hands. Secure the pipes running parallel. Draw an arc of the required radius directly on the ground, attach the product and bend it so that it becomes exactly the same as in the drawing. The next arc must be bent according to the pattern of the first.

The pipe must be cut into equal parts in advance using a grinder, and then bent according to the sample. In those places where there were undercuts, treat with spot welding. The light and strong profile is quite easy to connect to the planes. In addition, it is able to withstand a fairly large lateral load.

Using a Pipe Bending Machine

Anyone who has tried to bend a profile pipe is aware that it is very difficult. It is much simpler and easier to work with drywall, but not in this case! Here a special pipe bending machine or a manual method can come to the rescue. Also one of the ways is fire. One part of the pipe is heated, then, using a lever, it is bent at a certain angle. The disadvantages include appearance(upon completion) - rather unaesthetic and it will require a lot of physical effort, because this is not drywall!

Of course, with the help pipe bending machine You can bend the pipe much more accurately, faster and easier. Holding the handle, the profile stretches along the machine’s rollers, while the other one presses down the material, thereby deforming it. It is much more “pleasant” to bend a product in this way when it passes through a pipe bender and turns into an arch, moreover, of the radius that was given to it. Using manual machine, products can be bent to warm up the greenhouse during cold weather.

Make a pipe bender. You will need:

• 3 pieces of roller;
• special bracket with a clamping axis and a lead screw;
• metal table;
• template and blank;
• steel pipes with a diameter of 0.7-1.5 cm;
• channel and welding;
• concrete solution.

Bending methods

You can bend pipes for a greenhouse using a cold or hot method. Both options are provided. If you heat it with gas burner, ductility will be much higher. But if the pipe has a small cross-section, it can be easily bent without exposure to high temperatures. Pipes with thin walls are flexible and easy to bend. There are no specific recommendations regarding heating materials, with the exception of pipes with a diameter of more than one hundred millimeters. But if the pipe is square or rectangular in shape, you need to work with them a little differently.

If the profile height is less than ten millimeters, it must be bent cold. If the height is forty millimeters or more, then you can’t do without heating. Regarding bending material with a height of ten to forty millimeters, everyone decides for himself how it is convenient for someone and in what way, after all, it’s not drywall that needs to be bent! If you have a special device for bending the pipe, then you can do without heating.

Video “How to make a pipe bender and bend a profile pipe with it”

A lot of necessary information about a pipe bender to ultimately make a frame for a greenhouse.

Cold method

If the profile height is up to ten millimeters, it must be filled. For this you can use sand, rosin or a tightly wound spring. You can do this yourself, for which you will need: a bending plate, a vice and a mandrel, a bending profile (you can either make it yourself or purchase it in a store).

Heated

Material that is not amenable to the cold process must be heated at high temperatures. The pipe is first filled with sand to ensure uniform bending and quality of work. You will definitely need canvas mittens. Trimmings (logs) will be needed for a pyramid-shaped plug, ten times longer than the base. The base area of ​​the plug itself should be twice the size of the hole it will cover. Try on how the plugs fit, then make longitudinal grooves on one of them, on each side. On the future bend you need to anneal the workpiece.

Prepare a filler from construction medium-grained sand (it needs to be sifted thoroughly, several times through a sieve with mesh different diameters, first 2 mm, then 0.7 mm). Next, the filler must be heated at a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius. Plug one end of the pipe with a plug, and place a funnel on the other. The workpiece must be installed perpendicular to the ground, or at an angle, it all depends on the size. And fill it with sand through a funnel. To make it compact, tap the pipe with a mallet. A hollow sound means full.

Then close the second plug with the end of the pipe through which the sand was poured. Secure the product in a pipe clamp or vice. The welded joint should be on the side. Very carefully give the required shape to the pipe. In one step, bend it not sharply, but always in a vertical or only horizontal position. Everything worked out. The plugs can be knocked out (burnt out) and the sand poured out, the material for the greenhouse frame is ready!

July 24, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works(laying a foundation, erecting walls, constructing a roof, etc.). Internal construction work (laying internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communications, high technology, computer equipment, programming.

Recently it occurred to me to make a gazebo out of rolled metal summer cottage, but not simple, but with fashionable twists and turns, to show off to friends and acquaintances and surprise them with something. This required bent parts, but I didn’t bring a pipe bender from the city and didn’t want to go get one (I had already taken a little cognac to get me in the mood). Therefore, I had to get out of the situation and decide how to bend a profile pipe at home.

Features of bending profile pipes

If you recently started doing something around the house with your own hands, you may not understand the importance of the problem. Really, what’s so complicated about it: bend it with a hammer in any direction and that’s it.

However, giving a profiled pipe a smooth and curved configuration while maintaining all its technical characteristics is not so easy. This is usually done using special device under pressure cold or hot.

The point is that when bending a rectangular profile, two forces simultaneously act on it:

• compression - from the inside;
• stretching - from the outside.

As a result, several difficulties arise, due to which mechanics come up with various tricks for bending pipes:

1. Rolled metal during mechanical action can change its shape and also lose alignment individual parts. As a result, the edges of the part will lie in different planes, which will not allow it to be used during installation.
2. The outer wall, which stretches during bending, may not withstand mechanical load and crack, losing the necessary strength.
3. The inner wall, on the contrary, will contract incorrectly and form folds, in appearance reminiscent of a corrugated pipe.

In principle, I have more than once encountered cases where an incorrectly bent workpiece simply crumples, after which it can only be thrown into scrap metal. This leads to an unjustified increase in construction costs, which is like death for a zealous owner.

That is why you should not immediately rush into battle with pipe scraps, but study pipe bending technologies. And they, by the way, directly depend on technical characteristics rental used. This is what I want to talk about further so that you understand the entire mechanics of the process.

Influence of material characteristics on the choice of bending method

If you don’t know yet, then I inform you that the concept of “profile pipe” includes pipes of all geometric shapes, including round. But for ease of understanding, it is customary to call only products of the following shapes:

• square;
• rectangular;
• oval;
• flat-oval.

This is due to the fact that metal round pipe used for the construction of water and gas transportation systems, so it is ideal for this and has strong walls that can withstand significant pressure well.

Pipes of other shapes are more used in construction to create various structures and design furnishings. Further I will talk only about square pipes, since that is what I am going to use for construction.

So, there are also a lot of square pipes in the store. They differ from each other in cross-section and wall thickness. And these two parameters, in turn, affect the minimum angle at which square metal can be bent without damaging it.

I do not want and will not now go into engineering subtleties and features that home craftsmen do not need for nothing. I will only say that to determine the minimum bending radius you need to know the cross-section of the pipe.

The radius is determined as follows:

• for thin pipes, the cross-section of which does not exceed 20 mm, the pipe must be bent over an area 2.5 times larger than the height of the profile;
• for thick pipes, bending must be done over an area 3.5 times larger, otherwise the metal will crack outside or shrink from the inside.

For wall thickness. Personally, I do not recommend bending large cross-section pipes with too thin walls, otherwise the parts will lose alignment.
It is better to use a grinder and a welding machine.

Before bending a profile pipe, it would be useful to know that the materials you use steel pipes made of carbon steel tend to spring back a little, that is, return to shape after the impact ceases. Therefore, in order to bend a pipe to the required radius, you need to take into account plasticity, making the bend a little larger than necessary according to the drawing or pattern.

Pipe bending methods

In general, I decided that I’ll stop loading your heads with theory (although I can’t do without it). Therefore, I will move directly to how to bend a profile pipe at home.

Quite often in my practice, I bent profile pipes while simultaneously heating the bend with a blowtorch. Heat increases the plasticity of the material and reduces the risk of damage to the part.

But if for construction you use thin rolled metal of a small cross-section, you do not need to resort to additional tricks. Square pipes will take the shape you want. Of course, if you approach this matter with the proper skill.

I cannot give you unambiguous advice in which cases you should use heat and in which you should not. I can only say that they are valid building regulations it is stipulated that it is necessary to heat a round (not square) pipe if its diameter exceeds 10 cm.

However, I will give my own thoughts that have developed as a result of many years of work on construction sites:

• if the cross-section of the pipe does not exceed 1 cm, I would not even mention any heating;
• in cases where the pipe cross-section is more than 4 cm, I would still advise using a blowtorch so as not to spoil the expensive rolled metal;
• In the interval between the two extremes indicated above, decide for yourself.

You can try bending the pipe by holding one end in a vice. If, when you apply force, the pipe bends easily and does not wrinkle, you don’t have to heat it. If it’s hard to bend, heat it up. I’ll tell you about both methods.

Hot bending of profiled pipes

I'll start with hot bending, as it is more complex. To avoid deformation of the pipe, its cavity must be filled with sand. In this case, you will get a part whose appearance will satisfy even the most strict quality control specialist (inspired by the past).

The process of hot bending of a profiled pipe occurs as follows:

1. From suitable pieces of wood (I take two blocks) I grind out two plugs that are the right size for the existing pipe. They should fit tightly into the side holes of the part and not dangle.
2. Then, on the side of the plugs, I select small grooves through which hot gases from the bent metal pipe will be vented out.
3. I pre-anneal the area that will bend.
4. Then I prepare the filler, the role of which is pure river sand(although, in principle, any fine-grained sand can be used).

Pouring sand into the pipe occurs according to the following scheme:

• I plug one end of the pipe with a plug;
• I preheat the sand with a blowtorch;
• I pour sand into a workpiece installed perpendicular to the ground or at an angle;
• while falling asleep, I tap the pipe so that the grains of sand are distributed evenly, leaving no voids;
• After the workpiece is completely filled, I close the second end of the pipe with a stopper.

I recommend sifting the sand before use, getting rid of gravel and small stones. First you need to use a coarse sieve, and then a fine one, with a mesh size of 0.7 mm, to get rid of dust particles.
If this is not done, the sand will bake inside the pipe and pouring it out will be problematic.

1. After filling in the filler, I move on to bending. To do this, I clamp the workpiece with one end in a vice and mark with chalk the place that will need to be bent. The part must be secured so that the weld seam of the pipe (if it is not seamless) is on the side. Otherwise it may burst.
2. I heat it up with a blowtorch required area until dark cherry color and give it to the pipe the required form. This should be done with a quick but smooth movement, making sure that the bending is done in the same plane.

1. After the metal has cooled, I knock out the plugs and pour sand out of the pipes. If wooden blocks I can’t knock them out, so I burn them out with a blowtorch.

I’ll warn you right away that this method is suitable if you need to bend the workpiece to a certain (not very large) radius in one place. That is, the metal will only have to be heated once.

Otherwise, constant temperature fluctuations will disrupt the strength of the rolled metal and the part may simply burst.

Cold bending

You can bend a profiled pipe without heating it with or without filler. If the cross-section of the part does not exceed 10 mm, you can do without filling the cavity. It is better to pour sand into a large pipe.

Sometimes I bent profiled pipes using a dense spring of a suitable size. It is placed in the cavity of the pipe, after which it is bent at the desired angle, without fear of displacement of the axes of the part.

In this case, it is important to choose right size springs. It should fit tightly into the pipe, but move freely. Otherwise, you may not be able to get this part later.

If you need to bend the pipe to the desired radius, and blowtorch I don’t have it at hand, I suggest using another method, which I also had to resort to. To implement it you will need Sander with a metal cutting disc and a welding machine.

The work flow is as follows:

1. It is necessary to calculate in advance the bend radius of the pipe and the segment that will bend.
2. You need to make cuts along the length of this section on one side, leaving one edge of the pipe intact. The number of these cuts depends on how small the bend radius should be.
3. After this, thanks to the resulting cuts, you can easily bend the part by holding one end of it in a vice.
4. The next stage is welding damaged areas using an electric or gas welding machine.
5. Once the seams have cooled, they can be cleaned and welded.

Use of special equipment

All the methods described above can be used if there is a small amount of work to be done. However, when to give a smooth bend a large number parts, you will have to use specialized equipment. You can make it yourself, buy it or rent it.

I’ll tell you about this in a little more detail, since I receive quite a lot of questions of this kind, so I consider the topic to be relevant.

The simplest manual pipe benders

At one time I had to bend a considerable amount of rolled metal, so even offhand I can give many examples simple devices for bending. As I already said, the specific mechanism depends on the cross-section of the pipe, the thickness of the walls and the required bending radius.

For home craftsmen who are planning to build an arched structure from profiled pipes, I offer the following options:

1. Thin profiled pipes can be bent using a horizontal steel plate with drilled holes. Pins are inserted into them, which act as stops when giving the workpiece the desired shape.

You need to place the pipe between the stops and bend it at the desired angle. You need to start from the middle of the part and move towards the edges. As a result, you can bend the pipe, but you will not achieve the ideal shape, and you will have to apply a lot of force.

1. I recommend bending medium-thick pipes using rollers connected to each other like a Volnov machine. In this case, the part must be secured in a vice, and then the workpiece must be bent using special rollers.
   The quality of the bend is better than using the technology described in the first paragraph. However, given the thickness and cross-section of the workpiece, you need to be a strong athlete to bend the parts. Especially if there are a lot of them.

1. To bend parts under a small radius (for example, arches for a gazebo), you can use homemade patterns with a groove at the end and a clamp to which the pipe hooks.

As in all previous cases, considerable physical effort must be made to bend. But the part takes on an ideal shape, determined by the configuration of the sample.

Bending plate

If you like to make things with your own hands and often use profile pipes, I recommend taking the time to make a stationary bending plate that will help bend any square and rectangular pipes at the desired angle.

It can take the form of a mobile panel, which is attached with clamps to the work surface. The slab can also be welded to a channel or rail concreted into the workshop floor.

The manufacturing scheme for a universal bending plate is as follows:

1. The basis for the device will be a thick metal plate. It is better to take thicker metal so that the device does not deform when bending thick pipes of large cross-section.
2. It is necessary to cut or drill several holes in the slab into which to insert bolts that will serve as stops for bending the pipes at the desired angle.
3. The bending radius of the pipe during operation can be adjusted with nozzles of a suitable diameter, which are placed on the bolts.
4. To maintain the alignment of the workpieces being processed while working on them, you can install another plate that prevents the part from bending in a different plane.

Pipe bending mandrel

This locksmith's jig used for processing pipes whose cross-section does not exceed 2.5 cm. To manufacture it you will need a workbench and a large free space Around him. On one edge of the working surface of the workbench, you need to drill many holes in different places, which are necessary to secure the support bolts.

In addition, you will need a pattern made of thick plywood, along which the workpiece will be bent. The shape of the part after processing will exactly correspond to the diameter along which the plywood was cut.

The disadvantage of this solution is that you need to change the pattern every time there is a need to bend the pipe to a different radius.

The scheme of working with such a mandrel is as simple as possible:

1. The end of the pipe is secured between the bolt and the mandrel (pattern), which, in turn, is tightly attached to the workbench using several clamps.
2. After this, you just need to bend the pipe, resting it on the pattern.
3. If the workpiece is short, you can put a pipe of a larger cross-section (or diameter) on its end, which will act as a lever.

Manual bending machine

If you are going to open own business for the production of arched structures from profile pipes, all hand tools won't suit you. After several days of work, your hands will simply fall off, so it is better to immediately mechanize the entire process.

To bend pipes in this case, it is better to use a homemade or purchased bending machine, consisting of two fixed rollers and one movable roller. By adjusting the position of the latter, you can change the bending radius of a square or rectangular pipe. Although the price of the machine is rather high, it will save you a huge amount of effort and time.

Conclusion

Now, I hope you understand how to bend a profile pipe without a pipe bender and using special equipment. As you can see, if you know some secrets and technologies, there is nothing complicated in this process. You can safely get to work.

And if you have your own technologies for bending square or rectangular section, I will be very grateful if you share them in the comments.

Learn more creative ideas relating to the construction of houses and the arrangement of countryside land plots you can from the video in this article.

July 24, 2016

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