Where to bend a rectangular pipe. Making a square round or how to bend a profile pipe. Bending profile pipes using pipe benders

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

Bending a profile pipe: how to do it correctly?

The process of bending a profile pipe and a round one is not always carried out in the same ways; as a result, you can get a result different from the expected one. The square (rectangular) cross-section is difficult to bend, folds, cracks, breaks, flattening, axial twisting and other defects occur. To avoid this, let's consider all the subtleties of the question: how to bend profile pipe at home?

Before you begin bending, you should measure the internal height and wall thickness of the profile pipe. Due to the fact that the permissible bending radius of this range of products is not regulated, a value equal to the height of the inner wall of the profile minus twice the wall thickness is taken. These measurements are also necessary to determine the minimum permissible length of the bendable pipe section:

• 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 should be 3.5 * A mm.

Bending of a profile pipe along a 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 and a wall thickness of up to 2 mm; flattening, creases, seam rupture and other deformations cannot be avoided. At home, it is better to use welding to form a bend.

When 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 (not the concave side), so that the compression force does not directly act on the seam.

Ways to bend a profile pipe with your own hands

Owners most often cope with the arrangement of the territory around a private house on their own, building greenhouses, fences, gazebos, canopies, installing frames and structures from profile pipes. Such structures can consist of a large number of curved parts. The service for forming the required bending of parts can be ordered at the enterprise, where, using a special pipe bender (profile bender), everything will be done quickly and efficiently. However, many people bending a profile pipe with their own hands turns out to be of no less 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 using welding

Tubular products square or rectangular section, whose wall height is 30–40 mm or more, are difficult to bend, especially with small radii. To form a beautiful 90 degree bend from such material with your own hands, without a grinder and welding machine not enough.

Procedure:

• Make a bending template, which makes it easier to make several identical parts;
• Use a grinder to make notches along the pipe along the three walls, leaving one intact. The more notches, the rounder the bend will be;
• Fix one end of the profile securely;
• Using force, grasping the second end, gradually bend the pipe according to the template so that the cuts form the concave part of the bend. The bending plane should not be disturbed; you can use a mallet;
• Weld the cuts and grind the welding areas.

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 inner space it distributes compression and tension forces over the entire surface of the bent section of the profile. The most tested filler is fine, dry, well-sifted sand.

This method may be accompanied by heating the pipe blowtorch or by heating on charcoal; when heated, the metal will acquire plasticity, which makes bending easier. Tubular products with a wall height of 30 mm or more are hot bent.

Pipe products with a wall height of up to 20 mm bend without heating, and with a bending radius of less than 50 mm, no filler can be used.

Procedure for the hot method:

• Anneal the bend section of the prepared pipe;
• Make wooden plugs in the form of pyramids 10 bases long, which are 2 times larger than the lumen, make 4 longitudinal grooves on one for gas removal during heating;
• Plug one end of the pipe, gradually fill in sifted and calcined sand to the brim, compacting it by tapping. Cap the second end with a chopper with grooves;
• Mark the heating area with chalk, clamp the profile, placing the seam not on the concave side relative to the template;
• Heat the pipe until red hot, bend it with translational movements in one approach (re-heating is not advisable), observing the bend plane according to the template. Follow safety precautions;
• After cooling, knock out or burn out the plugs.

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

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

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

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

How to bend a profile pipe with your own hands and bring it back to its original shape is a difficult task. For everything to work out as planned on the first try, you can’t 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 movement under pressure, uniformly bends the pipe of the desired shape along its entire length. The shafts are machined to a specific cross-section. The pressure is applied gradually until the desired bend is achieved. The force is applied manually or using an electric drive or hydraulics. A home pipe bender is designed for a small number of bent products; a professional one can be used for serial bending of guaranteed accuracy.

Thanks to its design features, the profile bender efficiently bends rolled steel pipes without heating, as in separate area, and along the entire length at different angles, in different 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. A manual profile bending machine is easy to use, has small dimensions, and can be installed in a garage or small workshop. The pipe bender should be provided with a reliable, stable position; the work should be done slowly, constantly checking compliance with the template. The simplest option, suitable for thin pipes, is the Volnova roller machine. In a certain place of a workpiece clamped in a vice, a bend is formed by a roller, but good physical strength is required.

How to bend a profile pipe at home is not an easy question. There are many nuances to consider and everything to be done correctly so as not to spoil the material. Much attention is paid to the cross-sectional dimensions, wall thickness, calculation of the bending radius, and it is also worth deciding whether to use heating, filler or not.

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

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

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

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

You will need these tools:

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

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

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

Using a Pipe Bending Machine

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

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

Make a pipe bender. You will need:

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

Bending methods

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

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

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

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

Cold method

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

With heating

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

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

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

Drywall has already become an integral part modern renovation. From this finishing material you can create various complex shaped elements for walls and ceilings, as well as assemble beautiful partitions. And everywhere you will need to bend profiles, which are an integral part of the frame necessary for installing plasterboard sheets.

Therefore, the question “how to bend a profile?” remains very relevant. If everything is done correctly, then in the end you can get exactly what you wanted.

Structures made today from plasterboard often contain a variety of curved and shaped elements. They are especially often used when installing suspended ceilings. Here you can find the following options:

• circles and ovals;
• squares and rectangles;
• various geometric shapes;
• waves, steps, flowers, sun and much more.

Complex ceiling

Besides this, bend metallic profile will be needed in other situations:

• arch installation. Here the profile should be bent into an arc;
• creating a unified composition of walls and ceiling when the figured elements of the ceiling flow onto the wall;
• installation of niches with curved elements;
• creation of a figured partition. It can be decorative, contain complex curves and curls, or be straight.

Drywall arch

In any of the above situations, in order for the installation of drywall to proceed according to the specified pattern, it is necessary to bend the profile. If you do the whole process correctly, then the subsequent installation of plasterboard sheets will be quick and easy, and the end result will be pleasing to the eye for many years.
As you can see, in almost any repair using drywall, bending profiles at different angles is a load-bearing necessity.
Bending of metal frame elements under plasterboard sheets is carried out according to the diagram. Therefore, in order to correctly bend the profile, you need to read the corresponding instructions. We will present it below.

What is required for bending?

Working with metal profiles for drywall requires a certain set of tools. In order to bend metal elements and make cuts on them, as well as to carry out their further installation, you will need the following tools:

• screwdriver;
• screwdriver;
• pencil, tape measure and building level;
• scissors for working with metal.

Add to list necessary materials in this situation will include:

• metal profiles;
• fasteners. Here you will need self-tapping screws.

Don’t forget to protect yourself when carrying out work. So, you will need protective gloves that will prevent wounds and scratches on your hands. In addition, you may need safety glasses.
Having such a set of materials and tools at hand, as well as taking all precautions, the procedure for giving the profiles the required shape will take you 20 minutes at most.

Let's get started

On this moment There are two main types of profiles: guides and rack-mount.

Note! Only the profile guides can be bent, since the rack ones are used to support the main weight of the plasterboard structure.

In addition, when creating an arched opening, you can use a special arched profile.
Regardless of which frame element will be used, bending methods can be applied to all of them. It is necessary to bend the profiles before they are installed.

The bending of the element is achieved through cuts at right angles. The angle here should be 90 degrees, i.e. direct.
There are two options for making cuts, which depend on which part will be used for further installation of the frame element:

Side cut

• a cut at a right angle of 90 degrees is made on both side parts of the profile. The base of the element remains intact, which allows the stiffeners to be preserved intact. This method is great for making arches, semicircular elements or a circle;

Note! When using this method, you need to remember that the smaller the bend radius is needed, the more often you need to make cuts at an angle of 90 degrees.

• the incision is made at the base of the frame element. It is also necessary to cut one of the side parts of the profile. This method used to make ovals or wavy elements.

Often, shaped elements are made on the ceiling. Therefore, it is necessary to begin their formation only after the frame of the first level has been assembled and sheathed with plasterboard sheets.
The procedure for forming a bend is as follows:

Cut on the side and base

• We apply markings along the first level of the frame or wall surface (in the manufacture of decorative shelves). This stage is mandatory, since without marking it is impossible to make complex shaped elements;
• take the guide profile and shorten it to the length we need;
• to shorten the element you need to use metal scissors;
• Next, depending on the cutting method, we make a cut at a right angle of 90 degrees. The cuts must be strictly parallel to each other, otherwise the element will not be able to bend. The pitch for the cuts may vary depending on your needs. But often it is 5-8 cm;
• We make cuts where you need to make a curl or along the entire length of the profile;
• apply the cut profile to the marking line;
• After this, we fasten the finished element, bending it as the action progresses. You need to fasten it with self-tapping screws. Here you should be extremely careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges of the metal product;
• the element must be secured sequentially, carefully giving it the desired shape.

Attaching a curved element

Note! Self-tapping screws are installed whenever a bend needs to be made. This will give the final design more fluidity.

When attaching a frame with curved elements, be sure to check each profile with a building level. It is necessary that all frame elements are in the same plane. Only in this way will you be able to do flat surface ceiling or walls.
To give greater rigidity and strength to the figured element, we install rack profiles inside it.
After this, you can install the drywall. The main thing here is that the pieces from whole sheet were cut precisely required size. If they are slightly unsuitable, they can be trimmed to desired length drywall knife.
By following these instructions, you can correctly bend any metal profile and give it absolutely any shape.

Things to remember

So that the procedure for giving elements metal frame the required form was completed correctly, it is necessary to adhere to some rules and recommendations, because only in such a situation will you be satisfied end result:

Fastening sheets

• There are several types of profiles that differ in purpose and size. You need to choose a frame element based on what kind of structure you plan to construct;
• strictly follow the steps given in the instructions;
• To create shaped elements, you can use two types of guides - “UW” and “UD”. These elements do not have profiled sides. Therefore, it will be possible to make a couple of cuts on their sides without any problems;
• in rare cases, the use of “CD” profiles is allowed. But only if they do not carry a load and are part of a small shaped element. Cutting their sides at right angles will be a little more difficult;
• curvilinear frame construction must correspond to the parameters of the element that were drawn on the drawing;
• installation of drywall on a curved profile should be carried out using self-tapping screws;
• The greater the bend of the profile, the smaller the step will need to be taken when installing drywall. This way you will achieve maximum attachment of the sheets to the frame, without the formation of cracks;
• use the right tools, especially for forming cuts on profiles. This way you will avoid damage to your hands and quickly cope with the entire volume of work.

By adhering to these rules, you can easily create unique shaped elements from plasterboard at home, giving your home a new, original look.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated about bending the metal frame elements. The process of giving the desired shape plasterboard sheets much more difficult than for profiles. You just need to strictly follow all the steps in the above instructions and the result will be great!

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

Features of bending profile pipes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Influence of material characteristics on the choice of bending method

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

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

This is due to the fact that a metal round pipe is used to construct water and gas transportation 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 of furnishings. Further I will talk only about square pipes, since that is what I am going to use for construction.

So, there are also a lot of square pipes in the store. They differ from each other in cross-section and wall thickness. And these two parameters, in turn, influence under what minimum angle You can bend square metal without damaging it.

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

The radius is determined as follows:

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

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

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

Pipe bending methods

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

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

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

I cannot give you unambiguous advice in which cases you should use heat and in which you should not. I will only say that the current building regulations stipulate that it is mandatory to heat a round (not square) pipe if its diameter exceeds 10 cm.

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

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

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

Hot bending of profiled pipes

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. After filling in the filler, I move on to bending. To do this, I clamp the workpiece with one end in a vice and mark with chalk the place that will need to be bent. The part must be secured so that weld pipe (if it is not seamless) is located on the side. Otherwise it may burst.
2. Using 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.

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

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

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

Cold bending

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

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

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

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

The work flow is as follows:

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

Use of special equipment

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

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

The simplest manual pipe benders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bending plate

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

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

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

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

Pipe bending mandrel

This metalworking device is used for processing 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 many holes in different places, which are necessary to secure the support bolts.

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

Minus such a decision The point is that you need to change the pattern every time there is a need to bend the pipe to a different radius.

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

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

Manual bending machine

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

Learn more creative ideas regarding the construction of houses and the arrangement of suburban land plots, you can watch the video in this article.

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When owning and independently furnishing a private house or cottage, almost every developer is once faced with the need to bend pipes. Many people think about how to bend a profile pipe at home when erecting greenhouses, gazebos and other buildings of a similar type on a site.

And this is not surprising if you consider that profile pipes look noticeably more advantageous in comparison with products of ordinary round cross-section.

However, if the pipe is round can be bent with an ordinary pipe bender, it will not be possible to bend a profile pipe using it, since in ordinary hydraulic pipe benders the rollers and shoes have a rounded bend, which, when trying to bend a profile pipe, will lead to the appearance of cracks, kinks on it, or the pipe will simply flatten.

Methods for bending profile pipes

How to bend the profile pipe yourself in this case, avoiding its damage? For this purpose, several methods are used, one of which is bending using special machines that are designed specifically for profile pipes.

Machines of this type are called profile benders. However, the cost of such machines is quite decent, and why does the average homeowner need professional equipment?

If you do not need to bend a corrugated pipe all the time, but from time to time, you can find manual pipe benders on sale that are suitable for both profile and “round” pipes, which are also not so expensive - up to about $100. It should be borne in mind that the process of using a manual pipe bender will require significant physical effort.

If there is a single need to bend a profile pipe, it is not advisable to purchase a tool and it is better to contact a workshop or workshop of the appropriate profile, which will provide the necessary service for reasonable money, or sell a ready-made bent product.

This option will save both time and money, and the result of solving the issue will be exactly what is needed - bending the profile pipe to the desired radius.

Another method that is often practiced in such cases is to bend the profile pipe with your own hands using, so to speak, folk remedies. However, in this way it is possible to bend pipes of small sections - steel, copper, polymer.

Bending profile pipes using pipe benders

Bending Features

How to bend a profile pipe yourself? This should be done based on the size of its cross-section, the thickness of the walls, the material from which it is made, as well as the bending radius.

In addition, the production conditions, the required bending accuracy and the quality of the resulting product must be taken into account.

Bending of profile pipes is carried out within technical tolerances for wall thickness and cross-sectional size. In this case, the task is to avoid such undesirable phenomena as kinks on the inside of the bent pipe and flattening of its cross section.

Before bending a square pipe along a small radius, you need to remember that the bend should be made closer to the ends, since in the middle part the pipe will be more difficult to give in to this.

Bend a pipe

To perform the bend, you will need a pipe bender specially designed for cold bending with stretching. The tension generated by such a tool will lead to a displacement of the neutral axis of the pipe in the direction of the bend, which reduces the likelihood of obtaining a corrugated surface at the bend.

While in the machine, the pipe is grasped at the edges and stretched, and at the same time it bends when the bending template moves.

How to bend a stainless steel pipe without losing the quality of the pipe? To prevent the loss of stability of the pipe walls on a bend, bending is carried out under internal hydrostatic pressure: plugs are put on the ends of the pipe and liquid is supplied inside it, after which a bending template is brought to the middle of the pipe, with the help of which the bend is performed, giving the pipe the desired shape.

Pipe bending at home

You can bend a profile pipe with your own hands without the help of special machines and tools. Moreover, in most cases you can achieve a bend of really good quality.

Performing bending using a grinder and welding

Before bending a profile pipe, you will need to arm yourself with a grinder and a conventional welding machine.

Bending is performed in the following sequence:

1. The radius of curvature of the pipe is calculated.
2. Along the length of the bent section, uniform transverse cuts are made on three sides.
3. After this, bend the pipe with ease.
4. Weld the sawn areas.
5. Process and grind the welding area.

In this way, you can achieve an impressive external result with the desired bend radius of the pipe.

Bending using internal countermeasures

One such means could be a specially manufactured spring. Before bending the profile pipe, a square spring is wound from steel wire 1-4 mm thick (depending on the thickness of the pipe being bent).

The size of each side of the spring segment should be 1.5-2 mm less than the internal values ​​of the pipe cross-section so that the spring can penetrate inside the pipe without any effort.

After installing the pipe at the intended bend, immediately before bending the profile pipe, the bent section is heated with a blowtorch. Next, the pipe is bent on a blank, the radius of which is equal to the required internal radius of the bending pipe.

If necessary, bend to winter period, a somewhat original method can be applied.

So, how to bend a profile pipe:

1. The copper pipe is filled with water, having first closed one of its ends with a stopper.
2. Leave the pipe in the cold until the liquid freezes completely.
3. Bending copper pipe after this it can be made according to a template of the appropriate radius with virtually no loss of section and without effort.

Dural and brass pipes can be bent in the same way.

How to bend a corrugated pipe without a pipe bender? Prepare several buckets of dry and clean sand. If you couldn’t get clean sand, regular sand that’s been lying around in the yard will do.

It will need to be sifted and dried properly by calcining it over a fire or using a gas burner until the sand stops steaming and smoking. After processing and cooling, the sand is poured into a dry and clean container.

Before bending a square pipe, a wooden wedge is driven into it from one side to a depth of 10-20 cm, and then prepared clean and dry sand is poured into the free hole of the pipe until the pipe is completely filled. Next, a similar wedge is driven in on the other side of the pipe and the bending process begins directly.

The operation, as in previous cases, is carried out using a blank with a diameter corresponding to the required internal bending radius. If the bend is too steep (small radius), the bend can be heated with a torch. Sand tightly packed into the pipe will prevent it from losing its integrity or being severely deformed.

At the end of bending, one of the plugs is burned out over a fire, the sand is removed from the pipe and the second plug is knocked out or burned out of the pipe. Bending this way will not take much more time than bending a profile pipe using a pipe bender.

The methods presented in the article for bending profile pipes will be effective when all of the above conditions are met, however, truly high quality bending in every sense of the word can only be achieved with the help of professionals who will perform the work on equipment specially designed for this. Approach your work with skill, only thanks to this you will be able to achieve the desired result, while spending a minimum of money and effort.