How to bend a profile pipe: all possible ways. An overview of effective ways to bend a profile pipe with your own hands Where to bend a profile pipe

Many home craftsmen do not know how to bend a profile pipe on their own, without contacting specialists in workshops. In fact, it is not so difficult to perform such an operation if you acquire the necessary equipment.

1 Do-it-yourself profile pipe bending - practical advice

Thousands of owners of plots outside the city and private housing construction literally put their souls into their real estate. They try by all means to give it an original appearance. Moreover, such people strive to perform many landscaping operations with their own hands, truly proud of their work.

Very often, when arranging a country "estate", a person needs to bend a profile pipe, which is now very actively used for various purposes, from the construction of fences to the installation of an unusual visor over the entrance to the house. It is difficult, and sometimes simply unrealistic, to bend the pipe manually without using special devices designed for such purposes.

This statement is especially true for profile pipe products. If a round pipe can still be heated, wrapped around a special template, securely fixed one of the ends of the structure, and then try to bend it at the required angle, then this method is absolutely not suitable for profile products.

There is only one way out: to adopt a device for bending a profile, to study the principle of performing an operation with its help, and to solve the problem of giving the pipe the desired configuration. Note that even with the help of special equipment, it will not be easy to carry out such a procedure - it is highly likely that under the hands of an inexperienced person the pipe will flatten or its section will deform.

To minimize the risk of such an unfavorable development of events, it is recommended to pre-freeze the pipe by placing it in a large industrial-type refrigeration unit. If there is no large-sized refrigerator, it is recommended to perform the bending operation in winter, when the temperature is below freezing outside.

Before freezing, one edge of the profile product should be securely plugged, then fill the pipe with plain water and close the other end of the structure. After that, we place the workpiece in the chamber or take it out into the cold, wait until the liquid in it is completely frozen. Frozen water will not allow the product to deform in the process of bending it. And the process itself, believe me, will go much easier.

An alternative to the described method is a technology in which sand is poured into the pipe, plugs are placed at both ends of the structure, then 2–3 holes of small diameter are made in it. They are necessary so that subsequently, when the workpiece is heated, the gases formed in the pipe have an outlet. If holes are not made, there is a risk of deformation of the structure.

After completing all these operations, you can start bending. To do this, using a blowtorch, you need to heat the selected zone along which the bend will be carried out, and then boldly bend the pipe. The described preliminary steps (freezing, filling with sand, heating the profile product) will not have to be done when you use modern pipe benders designed specifically for working with pipes.

2 How to bend a profile pipe with a pipe bender?

Such a device is understood as special devices of several types, which make it possible, with a minimum of manual effort, to bend structures made of round or profile rolled products (for example, for home greenhouses and greenhouses, sheds, and so on). All pipe benders are usually divided into two large groups:

Roller (they are also often called profile benders): they are used for bending profiled tubular products along smooth radii. In this case, bending is carried out according to the principle of pipe rolling.
Hydraulic lever: with their help, metal structures are usually bent at the required angle, applying a certain force in a given place. The ease of the procedure is ensured by the fact that the force is set by the lever.

The advantages of using pipe benders are as follows:

reduction of human effort to perform bending (manual labor when using a device with an electric drive is completely reduced to zero);
refusal to install additional fittings and carry out welding work during the installation of pipelines);
lack of flattening and creases (the metal retains all its technical characteristics);
guarantee of obtaining curved pipes with the most accurate dimensions.

In addition, tube benders provide a truly elegant appearance to structures that are made from one-piece tubular products. From the point of view of decorative attractiveness, such designs can be considered impeccable. Try to achieve similar results if you do not know how to bend a profile pipe with a pipe bender. You are unlikely to succeed.

The choice of a specific pipe bending machine depends on the material of the products, as well as on the type of work that you will carry out using steel or (as you yourself understand, there is no need to bend plastic structures with a pipe bender). For example, copper pipes for installing a heating system or water supply are bent with a simple manual pipe bender, which is designed specifically for this material.

But already metal products for plumbing work are bent using a device that can cope with more durable and harder material. With profile pipes, of course, they work exclusively with a roller device, which was created specifically for such events. By the way, it also makes it possible to bend round seamless pipes with thick walls.

3 Popular models of domestic manual profile benders

In hardware stores, you can easily find different types of foreign-made pipe benders. But their price often does not suit the Russians, who prefer to buy proven domestic mechanisms. Fortunately, in terms of their capabilities, they are no worse than imported products.

The most popular devices for bending profile products are manual machines "PG-1" and "PG-2". The first one costs no more than $500, it is made in a compact form, being a mobile (portable) equipment. Due to this, the mechanism can be used directly at the installation site for bending copper, metal and with dimensions not exceeding 40 by 40 millimeters.

Structurally, the fixture is a frame with three rollers mounted on it. The pressure roller (it is central) allows you to pull the pipe. The ease of turning this roller is due to the presence of a comfortable handle. The width of the rotating components of the machine can be changed to work with pipes of different sizes.

The profile bender "PG-2" differs from its counterpart in a more powerful design. It easily bends pipes from the materials mentioned above with dimensions of 30 by 60 millimeters. With it, it is even possible to bend pipes into rings. It is clear that the cost of such a model is higher. You can buy it for 750-800 dollars.

We hope that you now have no questions about how to bend a profile pipe.

Bending a profile pipe is just the case when you simply cannot cope with the task without a special tool. Despite the seemingly not very strong design, a profile pipe (rectangular or square), even with a small wall thickness, is able to withstand significant loads without deformation.

That is why it is often used as a frame for various lightweight buildings. But if, by necessity, you have a need to give the profile pipe a curved shape, you should know how to bend it correctly without damaging it.

Profile pipe, in contrast to the round, is distinguished by the shape of the section, which can be of several types:

square;
flat oval;
rectangular;
oval.

According to the regulations of GOST R 54157-2010, the list of profile products should also include a round pipe. However, for the construction of greenhouses, it is the square shape that is more often used, since it is easier to attach a coating to it.

Today, pipe products are produced in a wide range. It differs in cross-sectional area, configuration and wall thickness. That is, regarding the bending of pipes, the minimum radius of curvature is called. First you need to determine the minimum radius of the flat rounded deformation. Otherwise, the workpiece will not "survive" bending and be damaged.

So, to determine the smallest allowable bending radius of a rectangular or square pipe, you should know the height (h) of the profile, since:

rolled pipes with a height above 2 cm are able to withstand without loss of deformation in a section with a length of 3.5 × h and more;
rolled pipes with a height of up to 2 cm are able to withstand without loss of deformation in a section with a length of 2.5 × h and more.

Based on these limits, you can begin to design the process of manufacturing shelves, racks, frames for vents, windows and doors, as well as other products from a profile pipe. Also, some adjustments are made by the wall thickness.

If the wall thickness of a wide pipe is less than 2 mm, then it is not recommended to bend it at all. In this case, it is preferable to use welding.

If you decide to make a greenhouse from ordinary low-carbon and carbon steel alloys, then they tend to “spring” slightly, that is, return to their original position. Therefore, before installation work, each arched arc will need to be rechecked and, if necessary, bent according to the template.

Ways of bending

The profile pipe can be bent either manually (using a manual pipe bender) or using a special machine. You can choose a method based on the following main points:

if you need to bend a small number of profile pipes (from 1 to 5), then it is easier to do it manually;
with large pipe cross-sections and significant wall thickness, you will have to use a profile bending machine;
a small radius of curvature can be done both manually and using a machine.

If you do not consider yourself a person with significant physical strength, even when using a long lever to strengthen it, then you better not consider the option of a manual pipe bender.

In addition, if you are not going to be constantly bending pipes, then it will not be financially profitable for you to buy any special tool for this purpose. As a way out of this situation, you can:

seek help from the nearest workshop engaged in similar work;
make a machine for bending profile pipes yourself from improvised materials;
use the method of bending pipes using a "grinder" and welding.

Here we will describe 2 methods of bending: by heating and cold method.

Before you begin to deform the material by heating, fill its cavity with sand. This will significantly increase the quality of processing, for example, the fold will be uniform.

Be sure to use canvas gloves for work.

So, the workflow looks like this:

From a wooden block, make 2 pyramidal plugs. Their length should be 10 times the base of the width. As for the area of \u200b\u200bthe base of the plug, it should be 2 times the opening of a square or rectangular pipe.
Next, try on the plugs on the pipe. On one of them, it is necessary to make grooves so that gases can escape from the pipe during the heating process.
Immediately before the bending process, the workpiece should be fired.
Now you need to fill the inside of the pipe with medium grain sand. In its composition, pebbles and gravel should be completely excluded. To do this, sift all the sand. If there are large fractions in the sand, they can contribute to the formation of an irregular bend relief. For this reason, sand should be sifted through a 0.7 mm sieve. If dusty particles remain, then when the pipe is heated, they are sintered inside.
After cleaning the sand, calcinate the entire mass at a temperature of 150 ° C.
After that, plug one end of the pipe with a plug, on which there are no channels for venting gases. Install a funnel on the other side of the pipe and pour sand through it in portions. Periodically tap the pipe walls so that the filler can compact well. If the sound when hitting a wooden mallet is empty, then this means that the pipe is filled well.

Close the pipe with a stopper.
The place to be bent must be marked with chalk.
Now clamp the pipe with a template in a vise. If the pipe has a weld, place it on the side. Stretching along the seam is not recommended.
Heat the marked area red-hot, and then carefully give the pipe the desired shape. It should be bent in one step with translational movements.
When the blank has cooled, compare it with the template. If everything matches and you don’t need to repeat the procedure, then you can burn out the plugs and pour out the sand.

In this work, you can not fuss and rush. Excessive movement can distort the workpiece. Moreover, it is important to observe safety precautions, because you will have to work at high temperatures.

It is not necessary to heat the pipes several times. Under the influence of temperature shock, the material simply loses its strength; worst of all, it can break when it is next heated up to 800 ° C. Therefore, everything should be done the first time. In this case, you will be able to make the necessary blanks for the construction of the greenhouse.

It is possible to perform pipe deformation without resorting to heating. The cold bending process can be performed with or without filler. For example, if the material has a profile height of up to 1 cm, then no filler is needed. If the pipe is thick, then it must be filled with sand. You can also fill with rosin.

A good alternative is a spring, which is installed directly on the fold area. Due to the spring, the material at the bending points will be protected from a sharp change in the profile section. This article discusses several methods of how to bend a profile pipe using the cold method.

Without pipe bender

As already mentioned, you can use a spring, as well as a blowtorch complete with it. For this, it is necessary to prepare a steel wire Ø2 mm. You make a spring from it so that it can fit tightly inside the pipe. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made spring designed for bending pipes.

So, the spring is inserted into the marked place and heated with a blowtorch.

Such a device refers to several types of devices that allow you to bend a pipe with a different cross section for greenhouses, sheds, home greenhouses and other structures where metal frame elements are used. Pipe benders are divided into two types:

Roller. Very often it is called - profile bending. It is used to bend the pipe along smooth radii. Bending takes place on the principle of pipe rolling.
Hydraulic lever. This technique will also allow you to bend the pipe to the desired angle. Due to the special lever, pipe bending is easy.

In general, the use of a pipe bender has a number of advantages, here are some of them:

Involves less labor. When using a device with an electric drive, efforts are generally reduced to zero.
There is no need to carry out welding work, as well as to use additional fittings.
Thanks to the observance of the bending technology, the pipe retains its technical characteristics and prevents creases and flattening.
Finished products get a perfectly precise shape.

The hardest part is choosing the right machine. The choice may depend on the pipes used, namely the material from which they are made. For example, if you need to bend a copper pipe, then it is enough to use a manual pipe bender. But if we talk about a profile pipe, then it is best to use a roller pipe bender to bend it.

A manual pipe bender is a device that allows you to bend a pipe of a certain section by applying physical effort. The pipe bender allows you to fix the bent pipe to facilitate all work, as well as select the required bending radius, focusing on the templates included in its kit.

Due to the rather high physical complexity of working on a manual pipe bender, it is usually used only to create single bent profile pipes.

One of the popular profile bending machines is the manual machine "PG-1" and "PG-2". The first option is a fairly mobile device. Thanks to this, the bending process can be carried out directly on the job site. They can bend pipes with a size of 40 × 40 mm. According to its design, the equipment has a frame and 3 rollers that are fixed on it. The central one, and it is the pressure roller, pulls the pipe. The comfortable handle makes it easy to carry out the process.

As for the other PG-2 model, its design is more powerful. This machine can bend pipes 30×60 mm. If necessary, this machine can bend the pipe into a ring.

Bending machine

A special machine that allows you to bend pipes without applying significant effort is called a profile bender. Its only drawback is its high cost, so it is usually used by those who have to bend pipes quite often.

Using the machine, you can get any bending radius of a profile pipe without destroying or deforming it.

Bending occurs gradually and in stages, each time at a small bending angle, which helps prevent the appearance of corrugated sections, which are almost impossible to eliminate. The absence of jerks in the work when using this type of equipment makes it possible for the pipe surface to remain smooth, since compression of one side and stretching of the other occurs simultaneously and very slowly.

To improve the quality of the work performed, it is recommended to additionally use the method of bending a profile pipe completely filled with liquid. The hydrostatic pressure that appears in this case prevents the pipe walls from deforming during bending. To prevent liquid from spilling out of the pipe, special plugs are put on its ends. In this case, you should be very careful to ensure that the pipe is completely filled with liquid, without air bubbles. In addition, bending such a pipe should begin strictly in the center, and not from the edges.

"Bulgarian" and welding

If you need to bend one profile pipe with thick walls and a large cross section, you can use a grinder and a welding machine for this purpose:

First of all, it is necessary to accurately determine the required bending radius by making a template from wood.
Then, every 5-10 centimeters along the length of the pipe, make cuts of its three sides with a grinder, always leaving the same side of the pipe intact.
After that, the pipe must be attached to the template and gently and evenly bent to the desired shape.
Then you just have to use the welding machine and weld all the cuts made, again giving the integrity of the pipe.
Once you've finished welding, you'll need to sand the seams and cover the pipe with a protective coat of paint to prevent rust damage.

Since it is not possible to quickly bend a profile pipe using this technology, and besides, skills are required to work with a “grinder” and a welding machine, this method is rarely used and only for single structures.

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

Recently, it occurred to me to make a gazebo at a summer cottage out of rolled metal, and not simple, but with fashionable frills and bends to show off to friends and acquaintances and surprise them with something. For this, bent parts were needed, but I didn’t bring a pipe bender from the city and didn’t want to go after it (I already took a little cognac for mood). Therefore, I had to get out of the situation and decide how to bend the profile pipe at home.

Features of bending profile pipes

If you recently began to do something around the house with your own hands, you may not understand the importance of the problem. Indeed, what is difficult there: rot it to yourself with a hammer in any direction and that's it.

However, it is not so easy to give a profiled pipe a smooth and curved configuration, while retaining all its technical characteristics. This is usually done with a special tool under pressure in a cold or hot way.

The bottom line is that two forces simultaneously act on a rectangular profile when bending:

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

As a result, several difficulties arise, due to which the locksmith comes up with various tricks for bending pipes:

Rolled metal in the process of mechanical action can change its shape, as well as lose the alignment of 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.
The outer wall, which is stretched during the bending process, may not withstand the mechanical load and crack, losing the necessary strength.
The inner wall, on the contrary, will contract incorrectly and form folds, resembling a corrugated pipe in their appearance.

In principle, I have repeatedly met with cases when an incorrectly bent workpiece is simply crushed, after which it can only be thrown into scrap metal. This leads to an unjustified increase in construction costs, which is similar to death for a zealous owner.

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

Influence of material characteristics on the choice of bending method

If you do not know yet, then I inform you that the concept of "profile pipe" includes pipes of all geometric shapes, including round ones. But for ease of understanding, it is customary to call only products of the following forms:

square;
rectangular;
oval;
flat oval.

This is due to the fact that a metal round pipe is used to design water and gas transmission systems, as 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 only talk about square pipes, since I am going to use them for construction.

So, there are also many 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 rolled 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 can only say that in order to determine the minimum bending radius, you need to know the cross section of the pipe.

The radius is defined like this:

for thin pipes, the cross section of which does not exceed 20 mm, the pipe must be bent in a section 2.5 times greater than the height of the profile;
for thick pipes, bending must be done in a section 3.5 times larger, otherwise the metal will crack on the outside or wrinkle on the inside.

For wall thickness. Personally, I do not advise bending large 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 will be useful to know that the carbon steel pipes you use tend to spring back a little, that is, return to shape after the impact stops. Therefore, in order to bend the pipe under the desired radius, plasticity must be taken into account, making the bend a little larger than necessary according to the drawing or pattern.

Pipe bending methods

In general, I decided that it’s enough to load your heads with theory (although you can’t do without it). Therefore, I will go directly to how to bend a profile pipe at home.

Quite often in my practice, I bent profile pipes, while heating the bend with a blowtorch. High temperature 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 section, you do not need to resort to additional tricks. Square pipes and so will take the shape you need. Of course, if you approach this matter with due skill.

I cannot give you unambiguous advice on when to use heat and when not. I can only say that the current building regulations provide that it is necessary to heat a round (not square) pipe if its diameter exceeds 10 cm.

However, I will give my own considerations, which have developed as a result of many years of work at construction sites:

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

You can try to bend the pipe by holding one end in a vise. If, when applying force, the pipe bends easily and does not wrinkle, you can not heat it. If it's hard to bend, warm it up. I'll tell you about that, and about that way.

Hot bending of profiled pipes

I'll start with hot bending, as more difficult. To avoid deformation of the pipe, its cavity must be filled with sand. In this case, you will get a detail, the appearance of which will satisfy even the most strict OTC master (inspired from the past).

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

From suitable pieces of wood (I take two blocks) I grind out two plugs that are suitable in size for the existing pipe. They should fit snugly into the side holes of the part and not hang out.
Then, on the side of the plugs, I select small grooves through which hot gases and a bent metal pipe will be vented to the outside.
The section that will be bent is pre-annealed.
Then I prepare the filler, the role of which is played by pure river sand (although, in principle, any fine-grained sand can be used).

Sand is poured into the pipe according to the following scheme:

I plug one end of the pipe with a cork;
I pre-calcined 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 on the pipe so that the grains of sand are distributed evenly, leaving no voids;
after the blank is completely filled, I close the second end of the pipe with a cork.

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

After filling the filler, I turn 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 fixed so that the weld seam of the pipe (if it is not seamless) is on the side. Otherwise, it may burst.
With a blowtorch, I heat the desired area to a dark cherry color and give the pipe the desired shape. This should be done with a quick but smooth movement, making sure that the bending is done in the same plane.

After the metal cools down, I knock out the plugs and pour the sand out of the pipes. If the wooden bars cannot be knocked out, I burn them out with a blowtorch.

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

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

Cold bending

It is possible to bend a profiled pipe without heating it with or without filler. If the 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 profiled pipes I bent using a dense spring of the right 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 the correct spring size. It should enter the pipe tightly, but move freely. Otherwise, then this part may not be available.

If you need to bend the pipe to the desired radius, and there is no blowtorch at hand, I suggest using another method, which I also had to resort to. To implement it, you will need a grinder with a disc for cutting metal and a welding machine.

The scheme of work is as follows:

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

Use of special equipment

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

I’ll tell you about this in a little more detail, since there are quite a lot of questions of this kind, so I consider the topic 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 of simple bending devices. As I said, the specific mechanism depends on the pipe section, wall thickness and the required bending radius.

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

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

It is necessary 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 to the edges. As a result, it is possible to bend the pipe, but you will not achieve the ideal shape, and you will have to apply a lot of force.

I recommend bending pipes of medium thickness with the help of rollers interconnected like a Volnov machine. In this case, the part must be fixed in a vice, and then the workpiece must be bent using special rollers.
The quality of the bend is better than 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.

To bend parts under a small radius (for example, arches for a gazebo), you can use home-made patterns with a groove at the end and a collar for which the pipe is hooked.

As in all previous cases, bending requires considerable physical effort. But the part takes the ideal shape, due to the configuration of the sample.

bending plate

If you like DIY and often use shaped pipes, I recommend taking the time to make a stationary bending plate that will help you bend any square and rectangular pipes to the desired angle.

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

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

The basis for the fixture 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.
It is necessary to cut or drill several holes in the plate, where to insert the bolts, which will serve as stops for bending the pipes at the desired angle.
The bending radius of the pipe during operation can be adjusted with nozzles of a suitable diameter, which are put on the bolts.
To maintain the alignment of the workpieces while working on them, you can install another plate that prevents the part from bending in a different plane.

Mandrel for pipe bending

This locksmith fixture is used to process pipes whose cross section does not exceed 2.5 cm. To make it, you will need a workbench and a large free space around it. On one edge of the working surface of the workbench, you need to drill a lot of holes in different places, which are necessary to secure the support bolts.

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

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

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

The end of the pipe is fixed between the bolt and the mandrel (pattern), which, in turn, is tightly attached to the workbench using several clamps.
After that, you just need to bend the pipe, resting it on the pattern.
If the workpiece is short, a pipe of a larger section (or diameter) can be put on its end, which will play the role of a lever.

Manual bending machine

If you are going to open your own business for the manufacture of arched structures from profile pipes, all manual fixtures will not suit you. After a few days of work, your hands will simply fall off, so it’s better to mechanize the whole process right away.

For bending pipes, in this case, it is better to use a home-made or purchased bending machine, consisting of two fixed 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 big, it will save you a huge amount of time and effort.

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 pipes, I will be very grateful if you share them in the comments.

You can get more creative ideas regarding the construction of houses and the arrangement of suburban land plots from the video in this article.

July 24, 2016

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Making metal structures with your own hands at home or at work is often not complete without the use of curved elements. The round shape of pipe frames in private construction is found everywhere: sheds, hangars, greenhouses, garden arches, benches, swings and much more. All this looks aesthetically pleasing, lightweight. The most popular material for such structures is a profile pipe, it is durable, lightweight, easy to install, resistant to fracture and bending. Then the question arises: how to bend a profile pipe?

Profile pipe bending: how to do it right?

The process of bending a profile pipe and a round one is not always carried out in the same way, as a result, you can get a result different from the expected one. A square (rectangular) section is difficult to bend, wrinkles, cracks, breaks, flattening, twisting along the axis and other defects occur. To avoid this, consider all the subtleties of the question: how to bend a profile pipe at home?

Before proceeding with bending, you should measure the internal height and wall thickness of the profile pipe. Due to the fact that the allowable bending radius of this range of products is not regulated, basically a value is taken equal to the height of the inner wall of the profile, minus the doubled wall thickness. These measurements are also necessary to determine the smallest allowable length of the bending section of the pipe:

If the profile height (A) is up to 20 mm, the minimum bending area should be 2.5*A mm;
If the profile height (A) is more than 20 mm, the minimum bending area must be 3.5*A mm.

Bending of a profile pipe along the radius is carried out taking into account the characteristics of the material and wall thickness. It is not recommended to bend tubular products with a large clearance with a wall thickness of up to 2 mm; flattening, creases, seam rupture and other deformations cannot be avoided here. At home, it is better to use welding to form a bend.

In the process of bending a square (rectangular) pipe with your own hands, the seam of the product must be placed on the side or on the convex side (only not the concave side), so that the compression force does not act directly on the seam.

Ways to bend a profile pipe with your own hands

With the arrangement of the territory around a private house, the owners most often cope on their own, build greenhouses, fences, gazebos, sheds, mounting frames and structures from profile pipe rolling. Such structures may consist of a large number of curved parts. The service for forming the necessary bending of parts can be ordered at the enterprise, where with the help of a special pipe bender (profile bender) everything will be done quickly and efficiently. However, for many, bending a profile pipe with their own hands turns out to be no less high-quality and even without a pipe bender, which is expensive and will not be needed in the future. There are several ways to do this at home.

How to bend a profile pipe by welding

Tubular products of square or rectangular section, the wall height of which is 30–40 mm or more, are difficult to bend, especially at small radii. To form a beautiful bend of 90 degrees with your own hands from such material, you can’t do without a grinder and a welding machine.

Procedure:

Make a bending template, according to which it is easier to make several identical parts;
Along the pipe with a grinder, make notches of three walls, leaving one whole. The more notches, the rounder the bend will be;
Securely fix one end of the profile;
Applying force, grasping the second end, gradually bend the pipe according to the template so that the cuts form a concave part of the bend. The bending plane should not be disturbed, you can use a mallet;
Weld the cuts, grind the welding spots.

How to bend a profile pipe using fillers

The filler is used to obtain uniform bends without flattening and folds (corrugations on the concave part), filling the internal space, it distributes the compression and tension force over the entire surface of the bent section of the profile. The most tested filler is fine, dry, well-sifted sand.

This method can be accompanied by heating the pipe with a blowtorch or heating it with charcoal, when heated, the metal will become plastic, which facilitates bending. Hot bending of tubular products with a wall height of 30 mm or more.

Rolled pipes with a wall height of up to 20 mm bend without heating, and with a bend radius of less than 50 mm, filler can be omitted.

Hot method procedure:

Anneal the section of the bend of the prepared pipe;
Make wooden plugs in the form of pyramids 10 bases long, which are 2 times larger than the clearance, on one make 4 longitudinal grooves for venting gas during heating;
Plug one end of the pipe, gradually fill in the sifted and calcined sand to the brim, compacting it by tapping. Plug the other end with a grooved chop;
Mark the heating area with chalk, clamp the profile, placing the seam not on the concave side regarding the template;
Heat the pipe red-hot, bend with translational movements in one approach (reheating is not desirable) observing the bending plane according to the template. Observe security measures;
After cooling, knock out or burn out the plugs.

With a wall height of up to 10 mm, we boldly bend the profile pipe with our own hands without heating and filler. In other cases, instead of sand, you can use a steel spring with dense square or rectangular coils. In size, it should be slightly smaller than the internal dimensions of the pipe, so as to fit tightly to the bend. The spring will also prevent unwanted deformations from forming during cold bending. They pull it out by the wire tied to the end turns, which goes out.

How to bend a profile pipe at home on a bending plate

This is another option on how to bend a profile pipe without a pipe bender, using fixtures made by yourself. These include a horizontal metal or concrete slab with holes, a stationary flat template with a fixing element, a workbench with a mandrel. These designs are good for cold bending of thin tubular products. The principle of operation is simple: one end of the profile is clamped, and the other is pressed under the action of force, bending around the prepared form. Manual bending requires considerable effort and does not guarantee accuracy.

It should be remembered that steel pipes have a plastic moment of resistance (spring effect), so the bend has to be adjusted several times to fit the template.

How to bend a profile pipe with your own hands, and bring it to its original shape, is a difficult task. In order for everything to work out as planned on the first try, you cannot do without a special machine.

Pipe bender for products with square and rectangular sections

Profile bending machine - a device with shafts, one of which, with free running under pressure, evenly bends the pipe of the desired shape along the entire length. The shafts are machined to a certain section. The pressure is applied gradually until the desired bend is reached. The force is applied manually or by means of an electric drive, hydraulics. A home pipe bender is designed for a small number of products to be bent, a professional pipe bender can be used for serial bending with guaranteed accuracy.

Due to the design features, the profile bender qualitatively bends steel pipes without heating both in a separate section and along the entire length at various angles, in various planes.

It is also possible to make a bending device with your own hands, it will take a lot of effort, time and money, but the process of bending pipes will become easier. Manual profile bending machine is easy to operate, has small dimensions, it can be installed in a garage or a small workshop. The pipe bender should be provided with a reliable stable position, the work should be done slowly, constantly checking the compliance with the template. The simplest option, suitable for thin pipes, is the Volnov roller machine. In a certain place of the workpiece clamped in a vice, a bend is formed by means of a roller, but good physical strength is required.

How to bend a profile pipe at home is not an easy question. You should take into account many nuances and do everything right so as not to spoil the material. Much attention is paid to the dimensions of the section, wall thickness, calculation of the bending radius, it is also worth deciding whether to apply heating, filler or not.

When carrying out construction work, a bent profile pipe is increasingly being used. The design and manufacturing methods of these materials endow them with excellent characteristics.

Therefore, many are interested in how to bend a profile pipe at home. After all, such a need arises often.

It should be noted right away that profile pipe products have a more aesthetic appearance than their round "brothers". And bending can be done:

in a specialized workshop.
Independently, at home.

If preference is given to the second option, then you should know that for these actions you will have to have certain knowledge. Watch the video on our website and you will succeed.

Features of bending profile assortment

The fact is that when changing the configuration, the pipe is affected by two forces:

compression, which has an effect from the inside;
tension acting from the outside.

When a professional pipe is bent incorrectly, it changes its shape and loses the coaxial location of some sections. Also, a stretching wall may simply not withstand mechanical stress and become unusable. In addition to these problems, incorrect contraction and wrinkling of the inner wall of the folded workpiece can occur.

It is not uncommon for cases that it is easy to bend a pipe from a profile along a radius, but the workpiece is crumpled. After that, it is already suitable only for scrap metal.

The combination of these factors affects the unjustified increase in costs, which a serious owner will never allow. Therefore, despite the fact that this pipe range is quite flexible, you should not rush to process it, and before bending the pipe along the radius at home, it is important to study the technology in detail. This will be discussed further.

Technology should not be neglected. Only for a master armed with knowledge, the question of how to bend a profile at home will not create big problems. All recommendations on how to bend profiled metal products correctly are given by professional craftsmen who have studied this problem in practice for a long time.

The influence of the technical characteristics of the material on the choice of bending method

First, you need to know that the concept of "trade pipe" includes an assortment of any geometric configuration. But, to make it easier to understand, it is customary to call the profile assortment of the following form:

square;
rectangular;
oval, etc.

This is due to the fact that round types are placed in the design of a pipeline for supplying liquid or gas, where significant pressure is provided. A profile of a different shape is found in various household structures and structures.

Square rolled metal is distinguished by the cross-sectional index and the dimensions of the walls. Both of these factors indicate the minimum angle for bending rolled metal, at which it will not become unusable.

There are a lot of engineering nuances in the question of how to bend a product without a pipe bender. But you don't need to know all of them to work from home. But it is important to know the following.

Thin products with a cross section of up to 20 mm without a pipe bender must be bent in an area that is 2.5 times longer than the height of the pipe itself.
Thick rolled metal can be bent without a pipe bender in an area that is three times longer than the section. If this point is ignored, then the metal will crack on the outside or deform from the inside.
Bending a profile pipe is dangerous in one respect: the occurrence of a fracture at the site of the operation, as a result of which the part is sent for final marriage or for rework for smaller products.
The limiting condition is the following ratio - the minimum radius should not be less than two and a half dimensions along the bend section. For example, for a profile with a thickness of 40 mm, the minimum internal radius will be 40 x 2.5 = 100 mm.

Before bending a steel profile pipe at home, one more rule should be remembered.

After exposure, the pipe strives to return to its original shape. For this reason, if you bend on your own, without a profile bender, then it is better to bend a little more than is necessary according to the scheme. If you bend the workpiece a little more, then in the end the rounding will turn out as the scheme requires.

All these conventions must be taken into account before bending one or another rolled metal, otherwise it is useless to get enough of a high-quality end result.

Methods that are used to bend

Do-it-yourself bending of a profile pipe at home is done in the following ways:

Bending by means of special technical devices. People call them pipe benders.
Using various hand tools.
By using physical force. But, this is only true for small diameters.

If you make a bend at home, then you need to consider:

The amount of bend.
Manufacturing materials.
The value of the wall thickness.
Section.

IMPORTANT! Measures for the deformation of profile pipe-rolling products are carried out in acceptable norms, set to the cross section and wall thickness. During operation, it is necessary to control that the cross section does not flatten and that internal fractures do not occur.

See how to bend a professional pipe and common mistakes, and below is a video of the process.

How to bend over the mandrel

In home workshops, rolled metal with a wall thickness of no more than 3 mm can be bent using a mandrel. The best option for solving the problem, if you need to bend a professional pipe by 20 with your own hands, is a profile bending machine, on the upper part of which there is enough space for finishing equipment. Such devices perfectly cope with products with a diameter of 40 mm.

When changing the shape of the assortment by 20 and 40 mm, on the workbench choose the optimal space for installing the element for fixing. To facilitate the work on one side of the machine, there are holes that are located close to each other.

The problem of how to bend a profile pipe at home without a mandrel pipe bender is not difficult to solve. The required radius during deformation is obtained due to the installation of a special template. For its manufacture, thick plywood is used. But, if work on bending profile pipes is required to be done often, then you can make a template from a metal corner.

Bending with the use of internal countermeasures

There are many different ways to bend a pipe without a pipe bender along the radius at home. Here is some of them.

These methods refer to work using improvised means.

Any greenhouse, gazebo, and other home extension cannot do without the use of a bent professional pipe. And practice shows that the question of how to bend a profile pipe does not create any difficulties.

The most important thing during the deformation of a professional pipe without a special manual device at home is the safety of the pipe product itself. And home craftsmen solve the problem of how to bend the profile in the following ways:

finishing with a grinder or welding;
using a spring
filling of rolled metal with sand;
bend with water.

Each method on how to bend a professional pipe yourself without a pipe bender that a home master can use has its own advantages and disadvantages. You need to familiarize yourself with them in order to stop at the most optimal option for your conditions.
Watch the video

Bending without a pipe bender - cutting with a grinder and welding

In order to bend the product without a pipe bender with your own hands, cross cuts are made at the place of the intended bend. Only three sides of the pipe are sawn, and the fourth is left untouched.

To determine the number of cutouts and sizes, a simple calculation should be made. How to do this, consider an example. So, you need to bend on a pipe 30 x 50 mm at an angle of 180 degrees (full turn) with a radius of 100 mm along a wall of 30 mm.

Calculation:

The length of the semicircle of the outer radius is determined from the ratio:
L \u003d 2: 2, where - the number Pi \u003d 3.14; r is the outer radius of rounding, equal to 150 mm; L is the length of the semicircle.

In the same way, the length of the semicircle of the inner radius of the bend Lin is determined.
The difference between the values of the outer and inner radii will be the desired value of the total length of the slots on the inner radius.

Lout \u003d L - Lin.

Having carried out the necessary calculations, we obtain the result of 157 mm.
Based on the width of the cut with a grinder of 5 mm, we get that 157: 5 = 31 slots must be made on 315 millimeters along the bend plane.

After that, the resulting part is simply bent by hand until the ends of the cutouts touch. The slots must be welded and the welds cleaned with a grinder. The gaps that remain after such manipulations are welded, and the welding spots are cleaned.

IMPORTANT! If the work is not done correctly, or the bend radius is not observed, then the bent pipe may be damaged in the end result. And it's impossible to fix everything. You must act slowly. This is the main rule that should not be violated.

Cutting with a grinder and welding is the formation of an angle by means of a cut, in which one surface of the pipe blank remains intact.

Since the metal in this case is subjected to thermal influence, it is necessary to treat the bent profile with anti-corrosion protection at the end.

Using a spring and a blowtorch

The second method - a spring, which allows you to get curved rolled metal, is also a variation of the method of using internal countermeasures.

This is also a common way to bend without a pipe bender. To work, a square-shaped spring is made of steel wire with a two-millimeter diameter.

It is made so that it fits into the pipe. It should pass freely, and at the same time there should be a gap of at least one millimeter. Next, the place of the bend is heated with a blowtorch. Then, using the prepared blank, the product is bent to the desired parameter.

If something does not work out, then the result can be corrected. But, it's better to do it all at once. With repeated processing, the metal becomes brittle.

Using sand to bend the pipe

It is possible to perform the deformation of communication at home without a pipe bender using ordinary sand, poured into the workpiece.

One side of the pipe is closed with a cork or any improvised object. This closed end is fixed in a vise.

The workpiece is filled with sand and heated with a blowtorch in the place where the bend is planned. Then the product is bent to the desired dimensions.

After the procedure is completed, it is left to cool. So the material fixes the acquired dimensions.

Professional craftsmen warn that there is one important nuance: in order to qualitatively bend the product with your own hands, you need to take the sand clean and pre-calcined.

Wooden corks, which clog a pipe filled with sand, are easily removed with self-tapping screws. Thus, it turns out to bend the workpiece very quickly.

Water exposure

In winter, bending the profile pipe on your own can be done using the following original method.

Watch the video

The workpiece is filled with water, and the extreme parts are jammed with wooden plugs. Then it is taken out to the street so that the filled liquid freezes.

You can bend this pipe in accordance with the template and without much physical effort. Its cross section is preserved during this procedure. After obtaining the desired result, the plugs are removed, and the liquid is poured out.

There is another simple option, but it can only be used to bend duralumin and brass gauge. Before starting work, prepare a template. The tube is filled with water, as in the previous case.

Watch the video

But, then it moves to a place with a low temperature. When the water freezes, rounding is performed using a blank. It should be noted that this method allows you to get the ideal shape of the rounding, and in this case, large forces from the hand of the master are not required to bend.

From the material presented, it is clear that bending a profile pipe with your own hands is not a matter of high complexity. If you approach the process competently and study the materials in detail, you can save a lot of money, time and effort. Also, do not forget the safety rules.

All the described methods are very effective, but only in the case of actions according to certain rules.

Watch the video

Watch the video tutorials, drawings and photos presented on the site and you will be able to do everything correctly and yourself.

Bending fixtures

Skillful people, not spoiled in life by unobtrusive service, invent ways for themselves to simplify the performance of rather complex operations, including profile bending.

One of these devices is the simplest lever with a template,

Using such a simple device, it is possible to accurately manufacture arched elements for a greenhouse or greenhouse, gazebo support posts and other details for a summer cottage exterior.

Advanced site owners, showing ingenuity and resourcefulness, make more complex devices from improvised materials that allow them to perform work with increased accuracy. Usually these are kinematic copies of 3-roll bending devices.

Such devices use manual drives, but if you develop the design further, it may well be the starting point for developing your own business.

When dealing with flexible profiles at home, you need to consider a number of circumstances:

when purchasing profiles, make sure that they are all the same size and steel grade and belong to the same delivery lot;
when using welded profiles, orient the side with a seam to the inner radius, otherwise it may break;
when working with a grinder, do not forget to use protective equipment in the form of glasses or a mask;
it should be borne in mind that it is not always possible to bend the end sections to the required size, therefore, when calculating the length of the workpiece, it is necessary to take into account their length and cut off such pieces at the end of the formation of the part;
after installing the products in place, it is necessary to carry out anti-corrosion treatment of the metal and continue to do it regularly.

Bending services

Such a service could not but become a separate line of business development, since it involves the use of rather complex technological equipment in the industrial version.

Video - how to bend a profile pipe

Profile pipe bending services are also on the market and involve the execution of both radius bending and arch bending. Separation occurs in this way because specific equipment is used for each of these operations. In the first case, this is a pipe bender, in the second, a three-roll rolling.

It must be admitted that the price indicators for performing such operations are very acceptable, as follows:

the cost of one corner bend is 30 rubles;
one linear meter of an arched span will also cost 30 rubles.

In comparison with the cost of metal and delivery of material in the Moscow region, this is really practically for nothing.

Special devices for bending

Speaking about how to bend a profile pipe at home using a pipe bender, you should carefully watch the video below.

After watching the video clip, it immediately becomes clear that the device that bends pipe products with a circular cross section is not suitable in this situation.

If you bend the pipe using rollers and rounded shoes, then cracks will appear on it, or it will simply deform.

Bending machines for such a process use those designed specifically for products of a certain type. You can buy a bending machine, or you can do it yourself at home.

Making a bending machine with your own hands

To create a bending machine, the best option is the manual view of the device. The design of the structure depends on the diameters with which to interact.

For pipe materials with a diameter of up to 20 mm, a simple fixture can be made consisting of steel pins placed in a concrete slab. The pipe inserted between the pins is bent to the desired dimensions.

But, when the diameter exceeds 20 mm, then for the construction it is necessary to develop more complex drawings of a bending machine for a profile pipe.

A pair of rollers with a round side section on the edges is fixed to a stable, powerful base. The radius of this face of the roller must match the diameter of the pipe product to be bent.

The workpiece is inserted between the rollers and its end is fixed. The other end is attached to the winch, and it is put into action. When the angle on the pipe reaches the required parameter, the winch is stopped.

ADVICE. The network provides many drawings of pipe benders prepared by craftsmen. The main thing to pay attention to is whether all the exact dimensions are in the diagram. Otherwise, the work of the bending machine may not be of high quality.

Watch the video

The whole process of creating a pipe bender with your own hands must be divided into the following steps.

Making shafts and fixing gears and bearings on them. The gears are fixed through the key. Bearings are advised to be purchased complete with supports.
Gears and chain are suitable for any machine. Parts from a foreign car are of better quality.
Using a welding machine, the base is welded, and the clamp shaft is screwed to it.
Next, weld the spring nuts and a platform for them.
Screw the support shafts at the bottom.
A tension chain is being built.
At the final stage, the handle is attached to the shaft. To it (to make it easier to bend), it is advised to use a handle that rotates.

Such a device quickly performs deformation by passing a tubular product through it.

The creation of such a bending machine is quite inexpensive. And such a device will come in handy in a private house very often, and in some cases it turns out to be simply irreplaceable.

These are the simplest pipe benders, after watching the video materials and studying the drawings, you can learn how to bend correctly and choose the best design option.

It is not difficult to cope with such a slave as making a bending machine, but it will save money. This saving can be about 20 - 30 thousand rubles.