Inventors:
Keith Titzer - Evansville IN
Charlie Oran - Wadesville IN
Richard Reich - Evansville IN
Gary Gann - Evansville IN
William O. Toy - Evansville IN
Jerry Lamb - Evansville IN
Chris Brack - Evansville IN
Lloyd Comer - Evansville IN
Dan Libbert - Evansville IN
Don Masterson - Evansville IN
Jerry Shekell - Evansville IN
Don Deig - Evansville IN
Kenneth Butler - Evansville IN
Earl Roehm - Evansville IN
Assignee:
Indiana Tube Corporation - Evansville IN
International Classification:
B21D 1107
Abstract:
A method and apparatus is provided for forming bends in a tube. A set of bend forming elements are mounted on each of a pair of parallel guideways. Each set of bend forming elements are interconnected by lazy tongs and a motor is provided to drive each set of bend forming elements along the guideways so that each set of bend forming elements may be moved together or separated while maintaining equal spacing between the elements. When a straight tube is placed between the sets of bend forming elements and the bend forming elements are driven together while the guideways simultaneously are driven apart, bends are formed in the tube to form the tube into a serpentine configuration. The bend forming elements have at least two different curvatures on their external surfaces so that the bends in the tube are formed in two stages with each of the different curvatures being sequentially operative to form the final bends in the tube.