In our articles a lot of time we told that tube bending is very “tricky” metal deformation process. With turning and milling procedures it is quite simple – more advanced machine tool with more options, features and possibilities allows to the workshop to produce more complicated parts.
With tube bending, if we will not speak about very complicated geometries where is necessary to use double head tube bending machine to avoid all the collisions, it is a little bit other. Absolutely sure that modern technology CNC tube bending machine helps to you to make even complicated tubing with the high speed production. But in the same way, even semi-automatic medium level tube bending machine allows you to make same part but probably not so fast. It is absolutely sure that precise CNC tube bender can give to the operator fine adjustment of every element of the machine but with high-skilled engineer it could be also be done manually.
So in this case why to overpay for the most advanced machine tool? Big production factories know the price of the technology and what are they paying for: high speed, quality parts, digital instruments including 3D visualization and integrity of the machine tool unit into the factory network.
Tube bending tools
Not only the machine is the key for the perfect result but also the tube bending tooling. And not only the tooling but the customer’s experience to install and to work with them in correct way, to make perfect adjustments, control, prevent the improper wear and order according to his needs and parts. It is also necessary to know that usually the customer should be skilled more to get the tooling he needs and to know what to do with it. Only customer stays near his machine tool, knows perfectly the production process, knows problems, material type and a lot of other things that it is impossible to discover in distance or without the daily experience.
Yes, we know a lot of stories how customers developed their unique “tricks” and technics to make the part how they need. They demonstrated them during the tube bending machines acceptance – manufacturer supplies standard machines and can make standard bends but usually don’t have enough experience to make something special. And it is a big mix of the tube bending machine, tube bending tooling, material supplies (and sometimes required also the additional annealing of tubes), CNC program adjustment with development of steps, speeds, even lubrication conditions!
What we are trying to say? We can’t teach customers and unable to do it, usually customers should teach us and point to us what they want to order.
Strange requests and and zero of business
We started to describe about tube bending machinery. We tried to do it but anyway we need to underline – there are the limits. Big companies who make tubes in thousands know the market, know machinery and know production process. With small companies, it is much and much harder. They can have cheap machine 40 years old and in one day they decide that, for example, mandrel can give them the possibility to make the perfect tube.
We had strange requests to offer mandrels even for people who bend tubes with some absolutely primitive unit and torcher to heat the tube during the bending. We received a lot of requests for mandreless bending machine, where people asked for mandrels and ideas how to install it. So, you need a van, you bought the coupe car, now you are asking how to put 8 people inside and to make it with comfort. Big production plants know the price for the technology. They spent for it years and big money. Other people think that they contact to professionals and professionals for a small price should make for them the solution. With the guarantee of the result.
It is absolutely normal to contact with technical sales and request the consultancy and the solution. But the truth is in the middle – as we told before the customers know what they need. If they don’t know they are just loosing time and wasting our time.
And it starts usually from the request. The most funny was that potential client bent something in sent and wanted 10-15 balls mandrel from the start.
Production costs and effective investments
During the visiting of the factory sometimes I was surprised to see very expensive machines to make very simple parts, for example tubing legs for park benches or other parts for outdoor furniture. We think that high technology CNC tube bending machines go to aerospace and automotive industries but it is true that a lot of them are used in simple parts production. And it was not the mistake of the customer, they made this investment to get more orders, more possibilities and operate with high production quantities. Could they save money and to buy lower level machine? Yes, in a lot of times. But probably instead of computerisation they requested more skilled and professional operators and for sure, production time increase.
Everything should be and commercial companies usually calculate their investments and return of it. But sometimes customers have absolutely old, extremely outdated machine tools for manual production and they request the new tooling for it… But our problem that probably the set of this new tooling will cost more than their tube bending machine itself. And the second problem – it doesn’t help to make it more modern or more production. Or to get more quality tubing they never have got.
So it is a big treasure to receive the requests for modern machinery – the customers know what they want and what to expect in terms of price.
Tools and technology
How simple could be the world if you will get on wrench in hands and with it you can get all your work done! As we told before – tube bending has incredible quantity of various factors and things to use to make the perfect bend. And not the tube bending machine is complete cure of the problems, even if it will be the most expensive model on the market. And not the new good fabricated tube bending tools will be the cure.
There are big books of tube bending, factors to study and recommendations made as internal manuals in big companies and they made it based on huge factory experience. Why did they do it if the solution could be just to call to professional manager of producer of tube bending machine? Because it is not so simple as other are expected. And in the huge world of metal forming production it is the rule – to think about some problem and to solve it in future somebody should receive this problem. And probably during the second time somewhere will be the solution.
In commercial activity it is a true and it usually for a lot of businesses and companies – the small deal will take the same time, efforts and paperwork as the big deal. Somebody even stop to deal with small requests and companies to make the business more effective for big deals. We accept Avery potential customer but we need to speak on one level, in same worlds and in same reality. And for sure we can help if the possibility is realistic.
