TPT January 2018

BENDING, END FORMING & SWAGING

Photo: Barnshaws

What may the customer of a state-of-the-art tube mill confidently expect of these specialities?

hand-finishing. But it is regularly achieved by companies such as those whose names appear in this section of Tube & Pipe Technology. Without sacrificing in the smallest degree the benefits won by computerisation, they have effectively erased the distinction between high- volume output and product that suggests the presence of an artisan.

At the very least: bending without kinking; end forming with minimal material loss; and no distortion of outside and inside diameters during swaging.

In many industries, that degree of finesse would be associated with customised craftsmanship – even