CNC tube forming method for manufacturing flexibly and 3-dimensionally bent tubes

Abstract

This article presents an innovative computer numerical control (CNC) tube forming method, called MOS bending, which manufactures flexibly and 3-dimensionally bent tubes and was put into practical use in industry. The machine for MOS bending is mainly composed of a bending die and a guide cylinder. Numerically controlled positioning of the bending die in vertical and horizontal directions realizes flexible bending in arbitrary bending radius and arbitrary direction. The variety of the bent shapes includes conventional 2-dimensional arcs, convoluted patterns in a plane, extremely large bending radii, 3-dimensional solenoids and other 3-dimensional complex shapes. The flexibly bent tubes are suitable for ornamental usages as interior and exterior decorations as well as automotive components. MOS bending revolutionarily changes the image of tube bending. The above and other benefits of MOS bending are reviewed here, together with its mechanism and some examples of products.