Tube and pipe bending from independent machine shops
Round, square, and pipe stock formed to a specified radius and bend sequence, with mandrel support for thin walls and roll bending for large sweeps. Upload a drawing and hear back from shops set up for bending.
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Tube bending shops on OpenSpindle
Real shops that bend custom tube and pipe. See their equipment and talk to the person making your part.
"Custom metal fabrication and precision machining in Baton Rouge"
"Precision Waterjet & CNC Cutting in Central Texas"
"Full-Service Metal Fabrication & Waterjet Cutting Near Austin"
"Waterjet, Fiber Laser & Press-Brake Fabrication in Lake Elsinore, CA"
"From Art to Part: Product Design, Prototyping & Manufacturing"
"Aerospace Machining, Welding & Sheet-Metal Fabrication — AS9100D"
How it works
How OpenSpindle Works
Upload your files
Share your CAD files or drawings (STEP, DXF, DWG, PDF) and note material, tolerances, and quantity. It takes a couple of minutes.
Get matched quotes
We route your part to shops with the machines and materials to make it, and they send competitive quotes.
Compare and choose
Weigh quotes, methods, and lead times side by side, then pick the shop that fits your budget and timeline.
Tube and pipe our bending shops run
Bending starts from tube or pipe stock, supplied round or square. Common alloys are below; if yours is not here, ask when you request a quote.
Specs
Tolerances you can expect
| Feature | With a drawing | No drawing supplied |
|---|---|---|
| Bend angle | ±0.5 to ±1° | ISO 2768 Coarse |
| Bend radius (CLR) | ±0.030 in | Tooling-dependent |
| End-to-end length | ±0.030 in | ISO 2768 Coarse |
| Plane-of-bend rotation | ±1° | ±2° typical |
Springback means the tube relaxes open after the die releases, so shops overbend to hit the drawing angle. Achievable radius is set by the bend tooling on hand; call out center-line radius (CLR) and wall thickness and the shop confirms it can be bent without a new die.
Secondary operations
Inserts, hardware and finishing
Threads and inserts
End-forming (flares, beads, expansions, and reductions), notching and coping for weld joints, hole punching, and welding bent tubes into finished assemblies as a secondary op.
Finishing
Applied after bending. Bare ships fastest; passivation, anodize, plating, and powder coating are common on bent metal parts.
| Finish | Materials | Adds | Can be applied with |
|---|---|---|---|
| As-bent | All | +0 days | Anything |
| Passivation | Stainless only | +2 days | Bead blast |
| Anodize | Aluminum, titanium | +3-5 days | Bead blast |
| Powder coat | Steel, aluminum | +3-5 days | After welding |
Bend first, then weld, then finish. Coating a welded assembly hides weld discoloration and gives one uniform surface, so plan the sequence before you order.
Get a better quote
Getting a quote that comes back fast
| Instead of | Send this |
|---|---|
| "Bent tube, need a quote" | "6061 tube, ⌀1.0 x 0.065 wall, three bends at 90°, 4.0 in CLR, qty 50" |
| "Tight bend on the end" | "90° bend, 2x diameter CLR, mandrel-bent to hold the wall, no wrinkles" |
| "Weld the ends together" | "Notch and TIG weld into a closed loop per drawing, weld ground flush" |
Give the center-line radius, wall thickness, and the straight length between bends. That is what decides whether it needs a mandrel and what it costs.
Applications
Industries we serve
Tube bending shops on OpenSpindle produce frames, roll cages, exhaust, handrails, and fluid lines for demanding industries, including AS9100 and ITAR-registered shops.
More on OpenSpindle
Other capabilities
Need a different process? Browse shops for these too.
Designing for this process
What actually changes your quote
Not a definition of bending. The design choices that move your price and lead time.
Radius is set by tooling
A bend needs a die at that exact radius. Design to a radius the shop already owns (ask, or match a common 2x to 3x diameter CLR) and you skip the cost of a new die.
Leave straight between bends
The machine needs to grip the tube between bends. Too little straight, roughly under one diameter, and the clamp cannot hold it, forcing a hand fixture or a redesign.
Thin walls want a mandrel
A thin wall on a tight radius collapses or wrinkles without inside support. Either add wall thickness, open the radius, or accept the mandrel setup cost. Say which you prefer.
Bend before you machine
Bending moves material and springs back, so precision holes and mating faces added before the bend will shift. Put close-tolerance features on straight sections machined after bending.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Rotary draw bending pulls the tube around a fixed radius die for tight, accurate, repeatable bends, and is the default for most tube work. Roll (ring) bending feeds the tube through three rolls to form large sweeping radii like coils and arcs. Note the radius you need and shops pick the right method.
Get tube bending quotes
Upload a drawing once and compare quotes from independent tube bending shops.
STEP · STL · IGES · DWG · DXF · PDF · and more
Uploads are secure & confidential