One heavy-duty section bending machine, two very different bending requirements

As SweBend’s authorised UK partner, WJS Machine Tools is always interested in real-world applications that demonstrate just how much can be achieved with the right section bending technology. A recent installation at Spray Engineering is a particularly good example.

The sustainability-focused manufacturer of process equipment for the sugar, distillery, biofuel and wastewater industries required a section bending machine capable of handling its everyday production of large pressure-vessel support rings.

But it also wanted the machine to tackle a much more demanding bending challenge: spiralling 100 x 30 mm S355 flat bar down to an inside diameter of just 500 mm.

SweBend’s solution was the heavy-duty SB3X-140 section bending machine, configured to provide the bending force, drive torque and specialist tooling required to handle both.

For Spray Engineering’s day-to-day production, the SB3X-140 is used to form large support rings for pressure vessels across a diameter range of approximately 1,500 to 6,100 mm.

For this type of production work, achieving consistent ring geometry is essential, but so is minimising the straight or ‘flat’ sections left at the ends of the material. Shorter flat ends mean less material needs to be cropped before the ring is joined, helping to reduce waste and production time.

At the other end of the machine’s capability, SweBend demonstrated something considerably more demanding: forming 100 x 30 mm S355 flat bar into a spiral with an inside diameter of just 500 mm.

For a section of this size, maintaining control of the material throughout such a tight bend places significant demands on both the machine’s bending force and its drive system.

The SB3X-140 has been designed with the high side-roll bending force and drive torque required to keep the section moving and controlled throughout the bending process, helping prevent twisting or movement out of plane as the radius becomes progressively tighter.

One of the key strengths of SweBend machines is the ability to configure the base machine around the work it needs to perform.

For Spray Engineering, the SB3X-140 has been equipped with a special roll set for square and rectangular bar bending and spiralling, together with a hydraulic lifting roll and hydraulic lift/pitch roll unit. The arrangement allows operation from either side of the machine and in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions.

A dedicated calibration unit with digital readout also enables the final ring geometry to be checked and adjusted accurately. This combination allows the same machine to move from regular production of large-diameter support rings to significantly more specialised small-diameter spiral work without requiring a completely separate bending machine.

Rather than specifying CNC control for this particular application, Spray Engineering’s SB3X-140 uses SweBend’s Wireless Bluetooth Control Unit.

For ring and spiral bending, being able to see the material from different positions around the machine can be extremely valuable. The wireless control allows the operator to move with the workpiece while retaining control of the machine functions, rather than being restricted to a fixed control station.

It is particularly suited to operations where the experience of the operator and the ability to observe and adjust the bend as it develops remain important parts of the process.

The machine supplied to Spray Engineering has been configured around its current manufacturing requirements, but the application-specific tooling does not limit the machine to those products. Additional roll sets and accessories can be introduced as production requirements change, allowing the machine to accommodate different sections, ring sizes and future applications.

That adaptability is an important part of SweBend’s approach to machine design: creating heavily engineered machines with the capacity to remain productive for many years while tooling and configurations evolve around the customer’s changing requirements. For manufacturers considering investment in section bending equipment, the Spray Engineering application demonstrates why machine selection needs to consider more than simply the largest section or diameter on a capacity chart.

Bending force, drive torque, tooling, material support, control and the ability to adapt the machine to the application can all have a major impact on achievable geometry, productivity and material utilisation.

Machine: SweBend SB3X-140 heavy-duty section bending machine

Customer: Spray Engineering Devices

Primary application: Pressure-vessel support ring production

Production diameter range: 1,500–6,100 mm

Proof-of-capability bend: 100 x 30 mm S355 flat bar spiralled to 500 mm inside diameter

Control: SweBend Wireless Bluetooth Control Unit

Special equipment: Application-specific roll set, hydraulic lifting roll, hydraulic lift/pitch roll unit and calibration system with digital readout

Power supply: 415 V / 3-phase / 50 Hz

WJS Machine Tools is the authorised UK sales, service and support partner for SweBend, supplying the manufacturer’s range of high-performance three-roll and four-roll section bending machines, plate bending machines and specialist bending solutions.

From standard section bending applications to demanding projects requiring specialist tooling, high bending forces or customised machine configurations, our team can work with SweBend to identify a solution around the material, section and finished geometry you need to produce.

Talk to WJS Machine Tools about your section bending requirements.