Thirty years ago we introduced inserted mandrel and wiper tooling to the tube-bending industry. Our continuous improvement of inserted tooling design and manufacture (via Datafacturing®) has set the standard.

Our flex-link mandrel tooling line features the following:

• Standard tooling available for round, square, and rectangular tubing with tube diameters from 1.000″ to 6.000″ (25mm to 152mm).
• Plug mandrels available for smaller diameters; custom ball mandrels for larger diameters.
• 1-“D” bending capacity.
• Tough, long-life, single-piece, snap-together poppet-style links with heavy-duty detent systems for reliable “snap-back” upon the mandrel’s retraction from the tube bend.
• Vented mandrel bodies for automated “through-the-mandrel” lubrication.
• Standard with four wrench flats on mandrel bodies for easier installation to the machine.
• Dozens of mandrel thread specifications (both inch and metric) are standard at no extra cost.
• Long-life nickel-aluminum-bronze* nose inserts and mandrel balls for bending high-carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and nickel alloy tubing.
• PVD coated steel nose inserts and mandrel balls for bending low-carbon steel, aluminum, copper, and aluminized stainless tubing.
• Available as complete assemblies, sub-assemblies, and individual replacement components.

Our cable mandrel tooling line features the following:

• Most durable multi-core wire rope for both greater flexibility and greater strength with tube diameters from 2.000″ to 4.000″ (51mm to 102mm).
• Inserted or solid-body configurations available.
• Tough alloy steel body (an aluminum-bronze body available at an additional cost).
• Long-life nickel-aluminum-bronze nose inserts and mandrel balls for bending high-carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and nickel alloy tubing.
• PVD coated steel nose inserts and mandrel balls for bending low-carbon steel, aluminum, copper, and aluminized stainless tubing.
• Vented mandrel cables for automated “through-the-mandrel” lubrication.
• Standard with four wrench flats on mandrel bodies for easier installation to the machine.
• Available as complete assemblies, sub-assemblies, and individual replacement components.

* For mandrels smaller than 4″ (101.6mm) in diameter. For larger mandrels, non-nickel aluminum-bronze is available.

Instructional Video for Mandrel Assembly

Step-by-step video demonstrating the assembly and disassembly of Bend Tooling’s tough high-performance poppet-link mandrel assemblies. Includes information on how to do it and what tools you need to do it. For complete printed instructions, download our “Rotary Draw Tube Bending Guide”.