×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

tubing bender die Manufacturing

tubing bender die Manufacturing

tubing bender die Manufacturing

(OP)
I am building a tubing bender at my vocational school. The die I need to make has a .625 radius that is revolved 120 degrees on a 5 in radius. We have a Hass 3 axis vertical milling machine. Is it possible to use 1/2in. ball mill to cut my profile. We use master cam to set our toolpaths. Any suggestions on setting the toolpaths would help my project. Thank you     

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

if you have a turntable, or 4th axis, you can use a .625" ball nose end mill, and cut the groove radially

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

This is a lathe project, plunge the radius with a form tool that you can easily make,then turn this as a whole disk and cut / mill out the sector you need.  As a turned surface you will be able to get a smooth finish in the radius.


jck26

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

Agree with jck, also - keep any unused parts of the disk that are large enough as "spares".

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

(OP)
The reason I do not want to use the lathe is because i will have to purchase a bigger piece of material.

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

Could still be done on a lathe but adapt cutting technique to allow for interupted cut.


Griffy

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

To answer your original question, yes, it is possible to mill that groove in the edge of a vertical blank with a 3 axis mill, and generate the required radius with a smaller cutter.

How to do it should be in your Mastercam textbook.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

Also needing to fab some tube bending dies...

I made a ring roller a while back that I'd now like to use to bend some 3/4" to 1" dia. aluminum tubing and possibly some copper and conduit. So I need to make another set of roller dies that have "circular" groves matching the tube diameter.

Can someone please tell me the best method for cutting this "circular" grove using my 9x20 lathe? My lathe tool post is limited to 1/2" x 1/2" tooling blanks, so I'm not sure what is the best way to make and mount a cutting tool that will be large enough to turn the needed grove diameter.

Am hoping someone can tell me how to make the tool and/or jig that will fit my tooling post.

Thanks

Scott
 

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

That lathe probably doesn't have enough motor or enough iron to run a form tool that big in steel.  So, use a pointy tool that it _can_ handle, and _generate_ the radius.

It's possible to spend a lot more, but I swear I bought a ball- turning attachment for less than $200 a couple of years ago, probably from MSC, maybe from McMaster.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: tubing bender die Manufacturing

(OP)
I finally cut my die and to answer my own question I could do it on a 3 axis milling machine. The die finish is not so bad and with a little polishing it will look great.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources