Profile pipe bending machine: how to build a pipe bending machine with your own hands. Homemade pipe bender for a profile pipe: device and manufacturing nuances Machine for profile bending

Bending profile pipes is a fairly common procedure, for which a special device is used - a pipe bender. You can make a pipe bender for profile pipe with your own hands, or you can buy it at the construction market or in a store.

Serial devices differ in the principle of operation, they may have different types drives, however, some experience is required to work on any of these devices. Limits the use of devices manufactured in a production environment, and the fact that they are not cheap. A good way out in all such situations will be the independent manufacture of a device designed for bending profile pipes, for which you can use improvised means.

Required structural elements

To make a pipe bender with your own hands, you can use the drawings various designs. Their choice is determined mainly by what materials you have. Most often they opt for front-type pipe benders, the design of which includes:

• three rollers (shafts), which must be metal;
• drive chain;
• axes of rotation;
• a mechanism that will set in motion all the elements of the device;
• metal profiles from which the frame of the device will be made.

To understand how to bend a profile pipe on a home-made device, it is important to understand what technology this process uses. As a rule, pipe benders use the principle of rolling or rolling, which minimizes the risk of fracture and damage to the pipe.

To make a bend on a profile pipe using such a device, it must be inserted between and turn the handle. The use of such a simple bending device makes it possible to obtain bends on a profile pipe that fully correspond to the specified parameters.

To make a simple machine for bending profile pipes, you will need the following structural elements:

• ordinary jack;
• metal profiles and a shelf necessary for the manufacture of the frame;
• springs with high strength;
• shafts in the amount of 3 pieces;
• drive chain;
• a number of other structural elements.

When using such a device, the operation of which can be seen in one of the videos below, the pipe is placed on two side rollers, and a third one is lowered on top of it, creating the required force. To give the pipe the necessary bend, you should turn the handle that drives the chain and, accordingly, the equipment shafts.

Pipe bender manufacturing process

To make the device receive, you must complete the following procedures.

• Prepare a reliable frame, the elements of which are connected by welding and bolting.
• According to a previously prepared drawing, install the axis of rotation and the shafts themselves, two of which are placed above the third. The distance at which the axes of such shafts are located determines the bending radius of the profile pipe.
• To drive such a bending mechanism, a chain drive is used. To complete such a transmission, it is equipped with three gears, and the chain itself can be picked up from an old car, motorcycle or other equipment.
• To bring such equipment into action, a handle is needed, which is connected to one of the shafts. It is due to such a handle that the required torsional force is created.

Pipe bender manufacturing instructions

It is not difficult to make a pipe bender for a profile pipe on your own if you follow the following technological sequence.

• Gears, bearings and rings are placed on the pressure shaft, which are connected to it with a key. First, a drawing of such a shaft, a cage for bearings and rollers is developed, then these parts are machined, which is best entrusted to a qualified turner. In total, for this device, it is necessary to make three shafts, one of which is suspended on springs, and the other two are located on the sides.
• Then it is necessary to drill holes in the rings, which are necessary for making grooves and threading.
• Now it is necessary to make a shelf, for which a channel is used, in which holes are also drilled and threads are cut, which are required when mounting the pressure shaft.
• After completing the preparatory measures, the entire structure of the equipment must be assembled, for which welding and bolted connections are used. First of all, the frame is mounted, which also serves as the legs of the pipe bender.
• The next step is to hang the shelf with the pressure shaft attached to it, for which springs are used. After that, it is necessary to install side support shafts on a home-made pipe bender, on one of which a handle is attached.
• The final touch is the installation of a jack on the pipe bender.

Some subtleties of implementation installation work:

• the pressure shaft, fixed with dowels, is additionally screwed to the shelf;
• installation of the pressure roller is carried out according to the following scheme: the shaft is installed on the shelf, to which the nuts for the springs are preliminarily welded, after the installation work is completed, the shelf is turned over and suspended on the springs;
• chain tension is carried out using magnetic corner, which is used as a holder;
• when twisting the stars, dowels are used, which are pre-made from the grower;
• the drive handle for the bending machine is made with a turning tube;
• a jack on such a home-made device is installed on a suspended platform, for which bolted connections and welding are used.

Production of a hydraulic pipe bender

On the Internet you can find a lot of photos and videos on how to independently make a device for bending profile pipes with a hydraulic drive. The manufacturing process of such a pipe bender, equipped with a hydraulic cylinder, an injection device and pipe stops, is a rather laborious undertaking.

In the drawing and in the design of such a pipe bender, the following elements can be distinguished:

• hydraulic type jack with a lifting capacity of at least 5 tons;
• shoe;
• rollers in the amount of 2-3 pieces;
• powerful metal channel;
• thick metal plates and other details.

To perform the required bending of the profile pipe using a hydraulic device, it is necessary to insert it into the shoe and fix both ends of it. After that, you need to use the jack, which, with its rising rod, presses on the roller that acts on the pipe and bends it. After the required bending angle is obtained, the process can be stopped and the pipe can be removed from the pipe bender by turning the jack handle several times in the opposite direction.

Pipe bending methods using a homemade machine

The question of how to bend a profile pipe with a homemade pipe bender is unlikely to confuse you if you read a few more recommendations. On hydraulic machines, it is possible to successfully bend profile pipes from different materials, as well as thick-walled products. Such an operation can be performed both by cold and hot methods, which involve preheating the pipe section.

Thus, a manual hydraulic bending machine can be used to act on a pipe in two ways:

• cold;
• hot.

Cold bending is the simplest bending method and is used for pipes made from ductile materials. The subtlety of such a process is the filling of the pipe before the flexible sand, salt, oil or cold water. This allows you to get a better bend without significant deformation of the pipe.

If you are interested in the question of how to properly bend a profile pipe with thick walls or made of materials of increased rigidity, then the answer to it will be the use of the hot bending method.

On the question of how to bend a profile pipe as accurately as possible and without unnecessary labor, several answers will be given. useful tips from qualified professionals.

Removable rollers of various shapes will allow you to comfortably work not only with profile pipes, but also with round ones.

• In manual pipe benders for bending profile pipes, you can not use sprockets, but assemble a structure based on a single drive roller. Instead of a clamping screw, a jack is often used in such pipe benders.
• If you are bending according to a template, then so that the pipe does not slip off it, you can use metal hooks as stops.
• If it is necessary to bend a profile pipe under a large radius, it is best to use a pipe bender with three rollers.
• To get a more versatile bending machine, you can make its thrust rollers movable. So you can change the bending radius of the pipe.

In the video below, the master shares his experience in building a pipe bender from scrap materials.

In order to strictly observe the dimensions of the required pipe bend, it is best to perform such an operation using a template that is made of wood. Even the simplest manual pipe bender using such a template will allow you to bend a profile pipe with exact observance of the specified parameters. By the way, such templates are mainly made to implement the simplest manual bending methods.

Do you have a familiar turner who can carve shafts for a pipe bender? If not, then this article is for you. We propose to make a profile bending machine of the simplest design without the use of turning operations. It will obviously not be for a high-tech exhibition, but it will definitely fulfill its function of bending profile pipes at home.

This pipe bender is also called a profile bender, since it is mainly intended for bending profile metal - a profile pipe, channel, angle and strip. In the presence of special rollers allows bending round pipes. It differs from a standard pipe bender in that it bends pipes not just at a given angle, but bends them into an arc or ring.

Important technical points in the manufacture of profile bending.

• When bending, the profile pipe is deformed, and its sides are squeezed out. Moreover, the smaller the bending radius, the more extrusion of the side walls of the pipe is observed. Also, creases form on one side of the pipe. These creases do not affect the strength of the bent pipe in any way, they just look ugly. To eliminate creases on the pipe, it is necessary that the roller has a small rib exactly in the center. This rib will press the side of the pipe during the bending process, thereby eliminating creases. The height of the rib depends on the bending radius of the pipe. The smaller the bending radius of the pipe, the greater the height of such a rib should be. On average, a rib with a height of 3-5 mm is enough. As a rib, you can weld a wire of the desired diameter onto the roller.

Bending profile pipe with creases.

• If you bend a profile pipe on rollers without a side flange, then there is a possibility of bending the pipe with a screw. This is due to the fact that during bending the pipe can move and its position relative to the axis of the roller will not be perpendicular, but under some degree. To avoid these problems, you need to bend the profile pipe on rollers with guide flanges.

• The force that must be applied to bring the bender rollers together and thereby bend the pipe depends on the distance between the rollers. In other words, the smaller this distance, the more effort must be applied to bring the rollers together. This is especially noticeable if the pipe bender is structurally made with a central movable roller and its clamping is carried out by a screw.

• The distance between the rollers also affects the length of the pipe that can be bent on a given profile bender. Short pipes cannot be bent on a pipe bender that has a large distance between the rollers. For these reasons, the rollers on the profile bender are made so that they can be rearranged.

• The smaller the diameter of the pipe bender rollers, the smaller the contact patch between the pipe and the roller and the more likely pipe slippage during bending. On professional pipe benders, rollers are made with a diameter of 100-200 mm, and they allow you to bend profile pipes of large cross section. For home use, rollers with a diameter of about 20mm are suitable.

• The more drive rollers, the less likely the pipe will slip. If you are going to bend a profile pipe of large sections, then it is advisable to make two drive rollers.

• If the central movable roller is pressed with a screw, then to facilitate its rotation, it is necessary to place a ball from the bearing under it. Then the contact patch between the screw and the supporting part will decrease and it will be much easier to turn the screw. It is better to choose a screw with a trapezoidal thread, and not a metric one. Trapezoidal threads can carry a much greater axial load than metric threads.

• For bending round pipes, you need special rollers with a semicircular profile. If you bend a round pipe on straight rollers, then it will flatten and instead of a round pipe you will get an oval.

How to make rollers for a profile bender.

Rollers can be made different ways, even at first glance the most unusual. For example, bicycle hubs can be used as rollers. Such hubs will not withstand heavy loads, but they will be quite capable of bending a pipe with a section of 20x40 mm.

As rollers, you can use ordinary scrap. We simply cut it to the desired length and put a bearing of a suitable diameter on such a roller. For example, scrap with a diameter of 30 mm, bearings No. 306 GOST8338-78 are well suited for it. So that the bearings do not move along the axis of the roller, it is enough to drip welding near the bearing race.

Rollers can be made from a pipe and purchased washers. The figure below clearly shows the design of the roller.

If you do not have suitable washers, then you can make them yourself. How to make them, see below in the article under the heading “how to make rollers for bending a profile pipe by running in”. Instead of a bolt, a metal circle of the desired diameter can be inserted into the roller and scalded.

Profile bending roller from a pipe, washers and a metal circle.

How to fix the bearings on the profile bending frame.

The best option is if the bearings are used in a ready-made housing. If there are no such bearings, then we use any suitable ones without a housing. They do not have to be rigidly attached to the frame of the pipe bender. You can make stands for them from a profile pipe or corners. The photo below shows various options bearing mountings.

Design features of profile benders.

A pipe bender can be made from almost any scrap metal. The frame must be rigid enough, no matter what it will be made of. It is mainly made from a channel, as it is quite rigid and has a wide surface for installing pipe bender shafts.

In the manufacture of a profile bender, you need to build on the materials that you have available.

One of the main components of the pipe bender is the power unit. It is made either from a jack or from a threaded screw. If there is a screw available, then you can make a pipe bender with a central movable roller. The screw, by the way, can be taken from an old non-working jack or from a clamp. The screw must be powerful, at least 16mm in diameter.

If there is a jack, then you can choose what type of profile bending machine to make. You can make a pipe bender with an extreme movable roller and a breaking frame or with a central movable roller and extreme fixed rollers.

The design is in principle unimportant, the pipe will bend anyway. If sprockets and a chain are available, for example, for bicycles, then it makes sense to connect the two shafts with a chain and thus make them both drive shafts. This will greatly help when bending large-section profile pipes, for example, 40x60 and more. Pipes of small section bend well and on one drive roller. If the rollers slip when bending the pipe, then you need to slightly loosen the pressure of the movable roller and then the slippage will stop.

The handle of the drive roller can be made from a regular bicycle pedal or you can make a round steering wheel.

If it is intended to bend the pipe into a ring, then it should be possible to remove the upper roller, otherwise the ring will not be able to be removed from the pipe bender.

Below are some photos with different design features.

Profile bender with removable top roller and movable end roller.

How to make a manual profile bender with a rolling roller.

This type of pipe bender allows you to bend profile and round pipes at an angle of 90 degrees or more.

The principle of such a pipe bender is based on rolling the pipe with a roller. The roller profile must match the pipe profile. This condition prevents unwanted deformations of the pipe at the bend. That is, the protrusion of the walls of the pipes and creases are excluded. This pipe bender allows you to bend profile and round pipes.

To bend round pipes, you will need rollers with a semicircular profile. Here, unfortunately, it is impossible to do without turning. But for bending pipes of a profile section, you can make rollers yourself.

How to make rollers for bending a profile pipe by running in.

These videos are pretty easy to make. You will need sheet metal, a drill, an angle grinder (grinder) and a bolt.

1. We take sheet metal and mark the circle.
2. We cut the metal around the marked circle with a grinder.
3. We drill a hole for the bolt in the center of the workpiece.

4. We insert a bolt into the hole, clamp it with a nut and fix the structure in the drill chuck.

5. We process the edge of the workpiece with a drill and a grinder. A cleaning disk must be installed in the angle grinder.

6. We collect the processed blanks into a roller. Please note that the roller in the center has a protrusion of approximately 5 mm. If you have read the entire article, you should already know its purpose. Such a protrusion in the center of the roller should be made only on the central fixed roller, it is not needed on the running roller.

Roller for a pipe bender of five circles.

Important points in the manufacture of a pipe bender with a rolling roller.

In the swivel bracket of the pipe bender, it is necessary to provide holes for installing rollers for different pipes.

The holes must be a certain distance from the center of the fixed roller. To make them correctly, you must first install the central roller, insert the pipe into it, then press the rolling roller against the pipe. And now the most important thing is that the running roller should be moved so that a gap is formed between the pipe and it by about 4-6 mm. This is where the hole should be. We drill a hole on the swivel bracket in this place.

Why is this gap needed? The fact is that the gap between the rolling roller and the workpiece in the initial position reduces the deformation of the pipe wall with outer side fold. In other words, the pipe will be pulled out of the clamp less during bending and the bending quality will improve.

You also need to understand that each pipe has its own minimum bend radius. If you try to bend the pipes less than this radius, then with a high probability it will bend with creases. Therefore, the diameters of the central fixed rollers must be selected according to the minimum bending radius.

The use of profile pipes is common not only in construction. Many home craftsmen adapt them to decorate the facade and gates, when building greenhouses, and in other domestic needs. In many cases, the product needs to be given a curved contour. Ordering a service or purchasing a factory machine will be expensive. The way out will be the independent manufacture of a machine for bending profile pipes.

Types of roll forming machines

The manufacturing size largely depends on the thickness and material of the pipes to be bent. Do-it-yourself pipe benders can bend products made of aluminum, steel, copper. The dimensions of the profile section depend on the location of the shafts and the possibility of their adjustment.

According to the type of installation, the bending device can be:

• stationary installation. Basically, these are massive mechanisms for large bending volumes. For installation, you need to make a concrete base or a welded box of a workbench;
• portable profile pipe benders have an average weight and performance. A welded base or a frame assembled on bolts with your own hands is arranged under them;
• wearable. Such pipe benders are created mainly for bending a thin profile, using it for decorative purposes. Bending installation is carried out on any flat, stable surface: concrete, steel, wood. Bending is done by hand.

According to the type of drive device, the machines are:

• manual - bending is carried out by transferring the force of the muscles. The disadvantage is the inconvenience of creating multiple bends and an uncontrolled radius of curvature;
• electric - bending is carried out by the operation of an electric motor;
• hydraulic - the force on the element is transmitted by means of a hydraulic jack. This is the most common option for self-manufacturing.

An electronic bending accuracy controller can be connected to electric homemade pipe benders.

The profile bender can be roller and slab. In the first case, the pipe acquires a radius due to rolling between two rows of rollers. In the second case, it bends on pins embedded in concrete. The second type is the easiest to make, but requires effort when working with your own hands.

The difference between machines by the method of bending

The bending of the pipe along the radius and the angle are very different. This is especially true for structures designed to transport liquids. Plastic bending of the pipe can be achieved in several ways:

• template bending;
• extrusion;
• pressing;
• rolling.

A bending or bow pipe bender is represented by a wooden cylinder and sticks with knobs. The pipe is fixed to the structure. The ends are pulled by hand. The method does not make it possible to control the diameter of the bend. For precise work, it is better to make a do-it-yourself machine according to engineering calculations.

For the safety of the pipe and uniform distribution of efforts, it is filled with sand. Filling occurs with tapping with a hammer, which contributes to the shrinkage of the material.

Extrusion is a dieless pressing with a single punch. Thanks to the rollers or swivel shoes replacing the matrix, the force vector is perpendicular to the product. This gives bending accuracy.

The process is characterized by the need to slowly and smoothly apply the load. Handy in this method manual hydraulic jacks. This option is especially common for do-it-yourself installation.

Press bending can be done using a conventional vise, brake drum and pulley. The machine is mounted by hand by attaching a punch and matrix vice to the jaws.

Drawings of a profile bender with the possibility of rolling can be found on forums and websites. The principle of operation is to pass pipes between two rows of rollers. The position of fixed parts can be adjusted by adjusting the radius of curvature.

Shafts are metal cylinders with an axis of rotation. Two are mounted approximately 10 cm from the mounting surface, the third above them needs to be made with the possibility of manual vertical adjustment.

Making a machine with your own hands

To make even the most ordinary home-made profile bender with your own hands, you will need a calculation. In this case, there is little chance of making a mistake with the dimensions, the need for material and the sustained forces.

Thereafter:

• using a grinder, metal or wooden elements of the base are cut;
• the manufacture of shafts and other critical parts is entrusted to the turner. If you have a lathe and the skills to work with it, you can do everything yourself. Shaft dimensions must be matched to the bearings and sprocket used;
• grooves and holes are drilled in the rings;
• the base for the pressure roller is being prepared. It is attached to the shelf through a dowel;
• base frame is mounted;
• support shafts are mounted and a portal structure for the upper shaft is arranged;
• all movable elements of the machine are connected by a chain;
• a rotation handle is attached for manual operation or reinforced to the engine. The jack is being installed.

Choose the type of machine, focusing on the wall thickness of the bent pipes.

By assembling the machine with your own hands, you can avoid unnecessary costs for factory equipment. The advantage of a personal machine will be its complete adaptation to specific needs and requirements. If necessary, a self-made unit can be improved and re-equipped.

To consolidate the skills of making a manual bending machine, you can watch the video:

In the manufacture of metal structures from profile pipes, the need for bending them often arises. Arched ceilings, greenhouse frames, playground elements - this is just a small list of objects that require the installation of rounded profiles. In production, special equipment is used to produce pipes with a given radius of curvature. Given the bulkiness and high cost of such machines, it is not advisable to purchase them for occasional domestic use. For a home workshop or garage, a profile bender can be made by hand. Everything you need for this can be found in the same workshop or found in the garages of friends and acquaintances. Interested in this design? Then put on your work clothes and get to work!

Profile bending machine. What is it for?

Universal production bending machine

The purpose of the roll forming machine is indicated by its name. This is the bending of metal profile pipes in order to obtain a certain radius of curvature in the required area or along the entire length of the workpiece. Using a profile bender, or in another way a pipe bender, you can perform several technological operations with rolled metal of various types:

• bending metal bars or fittings, including spring steel blanks;
• bending of profile metal-roll of square or rectangular type;
• getting knees from round pipes or bending them at the right angle;
• rounding of parts of any length from long products (corners, I-beams, channels).

There are several models of bending machines. Some allow you to apply effort only on a certain section of the workpiece. Others roll the pipe between rollers, applying pressure along the entire length. For some reason, it was the latter that received the name "profile benders" from specialists, although both of them directly relate to equipment of the same type. By the way, rolling the workpiece allows you to obtain a product of complex configuration without preheating, and bends can be made at an angle from 1 ° to 360 ° in arbitrary planes.

Roll type profile bender

Just like industrial counterparts, self-made profile benders are electrically driven or run on muscle traction. Of course, the use of an electric motor makes it possible not only to facilitate the processing of workpieces, but also to significantly speed it up.

Profile bending classification

Depending on the type of drive, which, in turn, directly affects the power and productivity of the machine, profile benders are divided into several types.

Hydraulic machines

Profile bending machine with hydraulic drive. Powerful and very expensive

Hydraulic pipe benders are industrial equipment, therefore they have high power and are designed for stationary installation. Such units are used mainly in small-scale and mass production, when it is required to obtain a large number of the same type of workpieces. The hydraulic drive completely removes the load from the operator, giving him the ability to control the machine by pressing buttons.

Advantages of hydraulic machines:

• high speed of work;
• complete absence of manual labor;
• ease of operation;
• the possibility of bending a profile of a large section.

The disadvantages of devices of this type include high cost, stationary design and complexity due to the use of a hydraulic drive.

Electric profile benders

Electric profile bender with screw drive. Inexpensive and functional

Bending machines that use electric motors are also stationary equipment, since they require an electrical connection. The electric drive is usually combined with a screw gear, which reduces the cost of equipment, but also makes it impossible to bend large section profiles. That is why such machines are found in small enterprises and even in private workshops. By the way, there are structures homemade devices with an electric drive, which function in no way worse than factory counterparts.

Advantages of electric profile benders:

• relatively low cost;
• workpiece processing speed;
• simplicity of design;
• high bending accuracy;
• the possibility of using digital technologies for machine control.

The disadvantages include the same lack of mobility and the inability to bend oversized profiles.

Manual machines

Manual profile bender. Cheap mobile option

Manual bending equipment is simple, compact and low cost. Due to the uncomplicated design with driven rollers and a movable roller, this type of profile bending machine does not require any qualification. If necessary, the machine can be easily moved to the installation site, and the affordable price similar devices leads to their widespread use in household. Of course, the design is not without its drawbacks:

• there is no way to accurately control the bending radius;
• increased processing time;
• high physical exercise on the operator;
• processing of profiles with a small cross section.

Advantages and simplicity of design manual profile benders make them attractive for making in artisanal conditions, so such machines have gained immense popularity among home craftsmen. By the way, manual bending devices can be transferred to the middle category, if necessary, supplementing the design with an electric drive.

The design and principle of operation of bending units

The design of the simplest roll-type profile bender

The main elements of the roll forming machine are shafts mounted on a solid metal frame. In this case, a pair of rolling rollers is responsible for the longitudinal movement of the workpiece, and the movable roller provides pressure on the part. Depending on the design of the unit, the clamping force is regulated over a wide range using a screw pair, a jack or a hydraulic mechanism. The rolling rollers are driven by an electric motor or manually. The latter option is used on small devices and is most often repeated by craftsmen at home.

In addition, there are other designs of profile benders:

• units with a left movable roller are used to produce spirals. Most often, such machines are equipped with CNC and allow you to bend parts, accurately controlling the bending gradient;
• machines with movable lower shafts bend overall workpieces, therefore they are equipped with a hydraulic drive. The presence of a position controller for each shaft makes it possible to obtain parts of complex shape, up to twisting the workpieces in a spiral;
• models in which all rollers are movable are the elite of roll forming equipment and can work with parts of any configuration and thickness.

The main difference between roll forming machines and other pipe bending equipment is that the workpiece configuration is changed not by bending around a fixed roller, but by cold rolling. This allows you to change the configuration of blanks of any section and length. This design will serve as the basis for homemade machine, which we propose to do yourself.

A diagram that shows the principle of operation of a rolling pipe bender

Necessary tools and materials

To manufacture a machine for bending profile pipes, you will need a fairly large number of parts, but this does not mean that you will have to buy all the items from the list. Preferential number necessary materials found in any garage or workshop. Here's what you need to get started:

The tool that will be needed in the process of work can be found with each master:

• angle grinder;
• electric drill;
• a set of drills for metal;
• hammer;
• welding machine;
• a set of open-end and socket wrenches.

The only difficulty you will have to face is the manufacture of the drive rollers and the pressure roller. The ability to carve them from the workpiece on lathe only the happy owners of such equipment have it. Nevertheless, do not despair - in any organization there is a turner who will inexpensively manufacture parts according to the presented drawings. The remaining elements of the machine can be used second-hand.

Everything you need to make a profile bender

The chain transmission mechanism can be borrowed from the gas distribution mechanism of automobile engines, and the bearing housings (and the bearings themselves) can be borrowed from old agricultural machinery.

Manufacturing options for manual roll forming machines

To make a roll forming machine, it is not necessary to repeat the existing design exactly. It is much easier to create a device according to your own drawings, based on what is at hand. This will save time and money and will allow you to design a fixture that is ideally suited both for its intended purpose and for the installation site. That is why on the network you can find many devices that use the same principle, but differ in execution.

Drawing of a pipe bender with radial action on the workpiece

One of the designs allows radial bending of rectangular shaped pipes due to the use of two rollers, one of which is movable, and the other is support (guide). The deformation of the workpiece along the desired radius is carried out by pressing and moving the working roller around the guide. The body of the device is made of steel sheet up to 8 mm thick and metal corners. To avoid involuntary displacement of the workpiece, before bending it is clamped between a fixed roller and a specially installed stop.

Homemade rolling machine for bending profile pipes

More versatile is a rolling type machine, the design of which is described above.

In addition, there are other, really simple designs, allowing to bend pipes according to the template. Unfortunately, the quality and accuracy of the deformation performed leave much to be desired, and in order to obtain a different radius, a new template will have to be made.

Pipe Bending Tools

In the manufacture manual machine some points should be taken into account:

• so that when bending the overall workpieces, the profile bender does not tip over, its frame is made stable and massive. best material for manufacturing, you can consider a channel or an I-beam;
• machine rolls must have low roughness and increased hardness. It is better if their configuration repeats the shape of the profiles of the most used sizes;
• the design of the housing must provide a change in the distance between the axes of the drive shafts. An increased distance will allow rolling blanks with a large cross section, then with a decrease in the center distance it will be possible to obtain bends of a small radius;
• the drive lever must be able to rotate easily during operation, so it should not be made too short.

Most connections in the manufacture of a profile bender are performed using welding machine. However, it will not be possible to completely do without bolted connections - movable structural elements are attached in this way.

Making a rolling structure with your own hands

For self-production, we recommend using the most common design of a roll forming machine with two lower shafts and a pressure roller. The easiest way is to install a manual drive on the unit, which, if necessary, can be easily converted into an electric one.

Device drawings

As already mentioned, it is better to design a profile bender yourself, based on your own conditions and preferences. In the work, you can focus on the drawings of machine tools, which the craftsmen who made them are happy to share.

Assembly instructions

1. Production of drive (support) shafts and roller. It is better to entrust this work to a turner, after which the parts must be hardened.

   The manufacture of shafts and support rings will have to be entrusted to a turner

   It is possible to make cylindrical rollers without grooves for profile pipes. In this case, two restrictive rings are made for each shaft. Such cylindrical nozzles are installed taking into account the width of the workpiece and are fixed with bolts.

2. Bearings are installed in cages. If it is not possible to use factory parts, then they can also be turned on a lathe.

   Shaft supports with installed bearings

3. Sprockets are tried on the shafts and the location of the keyways is determined. The grooves for the key can be cut with a drill and a file or a dremel.

   The keyway can be made with a drill

4. Holes are drilled in restrictive nozzles and threads are cut for clamping bolts.

   Thread for fixing restrictive rings

5. A platform for installing a pressure roller is made. To do this, take a thick metal plate or channel, in which two pairs of holes are drilled for mounting clips with bearings. In addition, a hydraulic jack will be installed on the reverse side, so in some cases you will have to cut off one channel shelf.

   Top roller support

6. The pressure shaft is screwed and the eyes from the M8 nuts are welded to the platform for fastening the springs.
7. With the help of welding equipment, supporting legs and stand. Special attention should be given to the part of the body in which the bearing platform of the upper roller will be located. The corners that will form it must be even, and when installing them, the geometry should be carefully observed using measuring equipment.

   Bed with top roller deck installed

8. The platform with the installed roller is suspended on springs from the upper cross member of the frame.

   

In the article we will try to figure out why profile pipes are needed; why bend them; what equipment is needed for this and is it possible to make a bending machine for a profile pipe with your own hands.

Why profile pipes are needed

The great advantages of square and rectangular pipes as elements of load-bearing structures have already been repeatedly covered in articles, so we will focus only on the main points:

• With transverse loads, it is much stronger than round ones;
• equally strong with respect to loads directed perpendicular to any of the pipe faces;
• are used where the vector of application of the greatest effort is precisely known. The pipe is mounted so that the load is parallel to its wide surface.

The profile pipe is practically not used for transporting liquids and gases, its destiny is all kinds of supporting structures and frames of furniture, greenhouses and other structures, which should combine, if possible, lightness and strength.

Tip: for a greenhouse, to be honest, profile pipes are better only for a slightly simpler installation.

The flat surface of a rectangular pipe is easily screwed to the same plane. From the point of view of strength, the usual water pipe three quarters of an inch in diameter.

Arcs, arches and circles

In some cases, not simple rectangular structures made of a profile pipe are preferable, but various roundings and arches. Their application is practiced in several areas:

Construction of buildings of complex shape based on metal structures

This is primarily a variety of exhibition pavilions, sports facilities and hypermarkets.

Complex shapes of structures with an abundance of roundings have two functions:

• Aesthetics. Simple rectangular box easy to assemble, but not attracting attention and certainly not pleasing to the eye.
• Maximum streamlining of the roof of the building for precipitation and winds. The large roof area means, among other things, that tens of tons of snow can accumulate on it.
  The consequences of this are usually the most unpleasant. In order for the snow to safely roll off the roof, it can simply be made domed.

Canopies and cornices

The reasons for making them rounded are exactly the same: to impress the consumer and not get complaints from him when the structure is blown away by a gust of wind or crushed by accumulated snow.

Greenhouses and greenhouses

You understand that the aesthetic component completely fades into the background. But practical motives become all the more important because the main roofing material here is a thin and fragile film.

If the greenhouse is not streamlined, the first strong gust of wind will send it on a seasonal migration to Africa. About snow and rain, I think, no need to explain ...

In the afternoon we will bend, in the evening we will disperse

The profile pipe is appreciated for being durable. If so, you can’t bend her knee into a neat arc.

We need a high tech solution.

1. The first high-tech solution in the best national traditions can be any source of high-temperature flame: a propane cutter, an acetylene torch or just a blowtorch. We warm up one section and, using any lever, bend at a slight angle. Then we move on. Difficult, requires a lot of effort and very sloppy. But it works.
2. The second high-tech solution could suddenly become a special machine for bending a profile pipe..
   In essence, it is a fairly simple construction, which we will analyze further by cogs.

Machine tools simple and complex

The simplest pipe bender for a profile pipe consists of three rollers on strong bearings, a strong frame and two handles. One sets the pipe in motion, pulling it along two pipe bender rollers, while the second handle presses the pipe with the remaining roller using a simple clamping mechanism, deforming it. The pipe is pulled through the pipe bender, turning into a neat arch with the desired radius.

With large volumes of production, electric-driven pipe benders are more meaningful. Thanks to a gearbox with a large transmission ratio, an overly powerful electric motor is not needed: the typical power of such devices ranges from half a kilowatt to one and a half.

In the most advanced devices, two independent electric motors for pulling and deformation of the pipe and several sets of rollers are installed, which allows you to bend pipes of various profiles without the risk of leaving any marks on their surface.

Of course, you should not expect too much from manual machines. Profile pipes for metal structures suitable as the basis of an indoor stadium, they are not bent. However, for example, a collapsible greenhouse that can withstand strong wind and heavy rainfall, you can provide for yourself. Suitable the simplest machine and for in-line production of various arched canopies and canopies to order.

crazy hands

If you have materials, tools, free time and a pair of properly sharpened upper limbs, you can not look for a bending machine for a profile pipe in stores, but make it yourself.

For example, in this, without irony, masterpiece of handicraft work, we see a very original use of a conventional car jack. It rests against the upper part of the welded frame and, when the handle is rotated, presses the tool steel roller into the pipe, deforming it. The pipe pulling function is assigned to a fairly powerful electric motor with a worm gear.

If there is no electric motor at hand or you just don’t want to mess with the electric drive, you can literally pile on your knee even more frightening, but no less effective designs.

Here the entire structure is welded (judging by the state of the steel, welded long ago) on a piece of thick I-beam. Broach - with a handle with a simple chain mechanism, deformation - with a home-made primitive clamp. And everything works great.

Tip: if you don’t have the remains of several machines in your shed or garage, it will often not only be faster, but also more profitable to buy a ready-made pipe bender.

Prices for the simplest mechanisms start at several thousand rubles.

Conclusion

To be honest, cases when it is really necessary to do the bending of profile pipes yourself are rather an exception for a city dweller. If you have your own large farm in countryside or you are about to start your construction business – well, good luck with your tool choice!