What to do if a pipe or a beam should be curved with a radius for which there are no tools for? Or if you need to get a profile with 30mm wall thickness to bend?

The solution is induction bending.

What is induction bending?

Induction bending is a prefabrication process where the profile is pushed through the induction ring while it is forced to bend from the receiving side. The bent profile is not in contact with the induction ring, but the heating is based on the eddy currents induced in the alternating magnetic field inside the bent material.

When the current passes through the material, an electromagnetic field is created, which in a very narrow area heats the profile to the desired molding temperature. Profile slowly passes through the induction ring, inside which heating and bending takes place. After passing through the ring, the material is cooled with a water or air.

With the induction bending method the bending radius can be chosen almost totally without restrictions, which enables the design of target structures and pipelines based on hydrodynamic calculations. Separate tools to chain the bending to certain radiuses are not needed.

Experience is our asset

We have been doing induction bending since the beginning of the 1980s at our factory located in Ylivieska, Finland. During these 40 years and more, we have bent many kind of different steel materials for a vast scale of purposes. This experience is exploited nowadays, while serving our customers and solving their challenges. 

Our factory uses three different kind of induction bending machines, that enables bending for pipe profiles with diameters of 40-908mm. The pipes can have a wall thickness of up to 90mm. Other profiles such as square, rectangle and I-beams can also be bent with our machines. 

Depending on the wall thickness, the bending radius can be from 1.5 x diameter up to hundreds of meters.
After induction bending the material is usually returned to its original state by post-heat treatment. At our factory we have two heat treatment ovens suitable for this purpose.

What are the benefits of induction bending?

• The number of welded joints decreases
  When manufacturing pipelines by bending the number of welding joints is reduced, which significantly reduces work, inspection, risks and costs. As fewer personnel are needed at the installation site, occupational safety also improves.
  
  
• Free bending radius makes designing easier
  Thanks to induction bending there are possibility to choose the bending radius freely in the design phase according to hydrodynamic calculations
  
  
• Material procurement made easier and faster
  The same pipe can usually be used in bending as for the rest of the pipeline. As material deliveries may take months, it is an advantage to make purchases as early as possible. With the help of induction bending, pipe materials can be procured even before the final geometry of the pipeline is determined
  
  
• More efficient use of material and less material waste
  The entire pipe piece length can be used along, so less waste material is generated. More than one bend can be made into the pipe piece without welds between.
  
  

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