Passca Pipe Bender

A pipe bender is a great addition to any professional automotive shop, and PASSCA is proud to offer a selection of high-quality pope benders to our customers. 

Gone are the days of manual bending, thanks to the power of hydraulic systems and smart designs – upgrades in manufacturing and automotive equipment design mean our pipe benders make hard work into a simple, quick task. 

Pipe Benders: The Ultimate FAQ

Not only will you learn about pipe benders and their uses in this FAQ, but we will also review what makes a pipe bender manufacturer and supplier a good choice as a business partner for your garage or vehicle servicing business. 

So, if you are ready to learn about pipe benders and how they can elevate the work you can do in your garage, check out the rest of this FAQ – and if you have any questions, please send them our way. We update these pages when we hear new questions from our many clients. 

What Is a Pipe Bender?

A pipe bender is used to permanently reform metal pipes or tubes into a new curve or angle. 

In the past, pipe benders were more manual, requiring strength and stamina to operate and bend the metal pipes, or in some cases heat treating was required to make the metal more formable. 

All PASSCA pipe benders use the power of a hydraulic bottle jack at their core to apply much more force to the bending process with less work for the operator – we have models with either 12 tons of hydraulic power or 16 tons of hydraulic force. 

What Is the Difference Between a Pipe and Tube Bender? 

The short answer is: there is not any difference between a pipe bender and a tube bender – they can perform the same functions, as long as you understand the differences between the pieces you are trying to bend and reshape.  

The difference betweens tubes and pipes is in how they are measured and recorded within international manufacturing standards. 

While pipes are measured and referred to by their outer diameter, tubes are classified according to their interior diameter – this is because tubes are typically used to transport pressurized contents like liquid gas or compressed air, so calculating the interior volume is more important, as well as the thickness of the tube walls. 

Pipes, like an exhaust pipe, do not need to be as concerned with the volume they can contain, so the exterior diameter is more useful when measuring and planning for their inclusion. 

If you have the interior and exterior specs for your pipe or tube, then figuring out the best diameter insert to use with a pipe bender is a simple and straightforward part of the process. 

What Is a Pipe Bender Used For? 

While there is a wide variety of hydraulic pipe benders for sale, most of them are used for similar tasks. 

Bending pipes in extremely common in plumbing and electrical work, to help pipes fit into existing systems or to bend electrical conduit for easy installation in new homes or commercial buildings. 

By bending a pipe, you can remove the need to install addition joints to change the pipe’s direction or create corners – which can save valuable time and even reduce project budgets by lowering the need for additional parts. 

Manual hydraulic pipe benders like all of the models offered by PASSCA are commonly found on job sites where there is no access to electric yet, since they are portable and do not need any external power source. 

In the automotive industry, pipe benders are frequently used for exhaust pipes, radiator pipes, fuel brake pipes, air conditioning refrigeration tubes, and mufflers. 

Other pipes and tubing in a vehicle often need bending, such as seat frames, hood struts, locking mechanisms, and other structural piping. 

How Can I Find the Best Pipe Bender Manufacturer and Supplier? 

There are so many options when selecting a pipe bender manufacturer and supplier, especially if you are open to importing directly from China. 

The cost savings used to be the main reason people outsourced their manufacturing, but after decades of the manufacturing industry growing overseas, it is the best way to work with specialists and experienced manufacturers and suppliers. 

When choosing a supplier in China, look for a manufacturer instead of a trading company, to keep costs low and work directly with the quality assurance teams responsible for filling your order. 

Communication was a major factor in the past, but now, manufacturers like PASSCA offer excellent English customer support and easy collaboration over the phone or through email and other digital communication tools. 

International quality certifications are important, and all relevant PASSCA products are CE and ASME certified for international business and safety standards. 

We have made an effort to provide tons of free, easy-to-access information about our products and there specifications, like in these FAQs – transparency is important through all steps of the process. 

What Are Other Uses of a Hydraulic Pipe Bender? 

Many other things around a garage or home contain pipes that you may not even think of as metal tubing, like chairs, bicycles, agricultural equipment, handheld tools, exercise equipment… to say nothing of all the electrical and plumbing work any modern building will contain. 

So not only can a pipe bender allow you to perform more types of repair and maintenance taks on a vehicle, but other tools, equipment, and facilities can be maintained or faixed using a handy pipe bender. 

What are the four basic pipe bends? These four types of simple pipe bends are the core of most metal forming processes involving a bender – they are: the 90-degree stub-up, the back to back, an offset pipe bend, and the 3-point saddle bend. 

How Do You Use a Pipe Bender? 

Before you begin to use a pipe bender, you will want to have some other tools on hand in addition to the pipe and your pipe bender – grab a level, a writing or marking tool, a reliable tape measure. 

You will need to carefully measure the length of pipe that will become the stub length, aka the bent portion – this involves some math and measurement, which is where your tape measure and marker come in handy. 

Bending pipes reliably and accurately is a skill that needs to be developed over time, even though modern hydraulic pipe benders make the process easy to perform – and bending cheap or low-quality pipes can often result in crimped, flattened, or generally ugly pipe bends. 

The good news is that pipes can be easily adjusted and the bend angle corrected if you have not dented or ruined the pipe. 

And PASSCA pipe benders, using built-in hydraulic bottle jacks, are easy to pump and apply the force to – this lets you bend a wide variety of metals such as steel or copper, not just softer metals.  

What Are the Types of Pipe Benders? 

Hydraulic pipe benders are the most reliable and cost-effective option, so that is what we chose to focus on and manufacture – they use manual power, compounded by a hydraulic jack system, to bend metal pipes and tubes. 

We also offer air hydraulic models that use compressed air to power the hydraulic systems – great if you need to work quickly or handle large volumes of bending! And air-powered hydraulic systems are much easier to maintain compared to electric types of equipment, meaning this is an investment that will last for years to decades. 

Hand tube pipe benders are another type, but leave more room for error and require more physical strength, in exchange for a little portability. 

Benchtop pipe benders include the hydraulic models like we offer, but also there are electric models available; although electric pipe benders need a suitable outlet and more maintenance. 

Computer Numerical Controlled benders are an advanced way to generate a specific computer-assisted bending plan and they offer repeatable results – but CNC benders take up a lot of space and cost a ton, so they are a better fit for a professional manufacturing environment. 

Large-scale manufacturing pipe benders often use heat bending, roll bending, or ram bending, depending on their specifications and the intended usage; some heavy duty pipes or annealed tubes might need a stronger or more advanced bender. 

What Are the Components of a Pipe Bender? 

This answer will be focused specifically on the components of a hydraulic pipe bender, the style offered in the PASSCA catalog – with so many types of pipe bender on the market the components involved can vary wildly. 

A steel construction means your pipe bender is durable and should last through years of heavy use in a professional setting. 

The hydraulic jack portion is easy to maintain, just like any other small hydraulic system found in a car jack, engine hoist, or hydraulic press – we proudly stand by the quality and longevity of every PASSCA hydraulic jack. 

Each PASSCA pipe bender comes with an assortment of hydraulic pipe bender dies or pipe shoes, that fit a variety of diameters so you can handle more metalworking tasks. 

The precision cast dies are in a range of half inch to 2 or 3 inch diameters, which should cover the majority of pipes in an automotive work setting – if you work with 3 inch pipes, make sure to choose a model that comes with the 3-inch pipe bending die insert. 

And it is as simple as that! Pipe benders do not require a lot of additional materials or delicate care – just insert and pump it to bend.  

How to Maintain a Pipe Bender? 

For a hydraulic pipe bender, the main thing to remember is to bleed any air from the jack assembly as needed; the rest of the components of a pipe bender are solid steel and should not experience any problems. 

Bleeding a hydraulic jack is a simple process, and we have plenty of information about this part of the pipe bender in our hydraulic bottle jack FAQ. 

How Can I Choose the Best Pipe Bender for a Professional Automotive Shop?

While we do offer portable pipe benders with a tripod stand and external pump system, a professional garage would be best served by one of the more sturdy benchtop models. 

Model #82104 can handles up to 3-inch pipes and can be manually pumped or hooked up to an air compressor, meaning it is our most versatile and heavy duty option. 

With the knowledge in this FAQ Guide, you are sure to find the best pipe bender for your needs. 

If you still have questions, or would like to discuss a bulk order of equipment, please reach out ot our customer support team for a customized solution and pricing information. Contact PASSCA Tools now for all your automotive equipment needs.