What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Hydraulic tube bender conversion

jimmy1984

jimmy1984

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Posts
152
Reaction score
0
Location
Napa CA/Oconomowoc WI
Hi everyone I'm starting to put together the stuff I need to convert my JD32 manual tube bender to electric/hydraulic.

I've had the Model 32 for a few years and use it in more of a side job production setting so I got tired of cranking on the handle.

To the right in this picture you can see a pice of that 4x6 that will serve as the main frame to the Bender


I have everything I need as far as hydraulics goes, I just need to build a frame for it all, that will complete stage one.

After that is complete and I use it for a bit I am planning on adding an encoder and PLC control to allow programmable bends, not that j need it mostly because I can't leave anything alone.

If any one has any advice please let me know.
I will post some pictures of what I have tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
I always like a slightly tapered stand for this kind of stuff.. narrow and long up top.. than the legs angled out a bit towards the floor for a stable base.... going hydro is on my "to do" list too..
 
I'm also considering the triangle stand design the issue I have is I'm using a Pretty big ram I thinks the stroke on it is like 36" so what ever stand I build it needs to be stable cause everything uptop is going to be very heavy.

Especially when I have a tube sticking out one end, but I think I'll have to add a separate stand to support long sections of tube.

We shall see

I picked up a 4x6 rectangle tube .25 wall today to act as the main frame to mount the bender and the ram to. Then the frame will mount to that.
 
this is the approach I'm talking about.. the stand I built for my lathe..






100_0154_zpsba88b7cd.jpg





tho casters should be added to any of these builds IMO..
 
Swagg has a set up for hydralic ram. Uses a northern tools air over hydralic ram. I have one on my 32 and it works well. Lots cheaper then the one the sell with it.
 
The stand is fine but I don't really like those particular designs for mounting the cylinder. That puts a lot of force on the bender itself just to get the bend started. Once the bend gets to 20* or so, it isn't so bad and the force goes into bending the tube.

I like this design much better.

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13198

jimmy1984 said:
Exactly!
I like this setup a lot.
Click to expand...
 
Up until now I've had the bender, ram and main Frame all bolted together sitting on my workbench. Before I get to into building the actualy stand I've been trying to figure out a low pressure issue with the pump.

It just wasn't putting out more then 100psi. Which would kinda bend tube but not realy.

The pump I'm using is an old haldex pump that is obsolete so info on it is alittle hard to find but I eventually found that there is an internal pressure relief inside the pump. I cranked that baby up and now I'm assuming it's putting out a lot more pressure because I stuck a tube in there (1.75 x .120 DOM) and it bent it to about 100 degrees in one shot in about 15 seconds. The gauge showed 500 psi.

So now the stand build begins.

Ordered up 50' of 1.5" square tubing and got started on the frame.

 
Last edited:
O all of a sudden your visiting again? Nice to see you around haha

Also I'm having a hard time getting pictures up hence the lack of photos... Haha I put in work today though it actualy looks like something haha
 
I got most of the frame done here are some pics to keep you all interested, I have definitely been lagging on photos.
The holes in these plates are 1" and the plates are 1/2" thick, a hole saw on a hand drill worked much better then I thought it would.






Here it is with the main beam on the stand.



I want the beam to be mounted solid to the frame but i didn't want to weld it on just in case I ever want to change it up... also I didn't want to drill any holes in the 1/4" steel so i came up with this idea.



Thats where im at now more to come.
 
Put in some more work on this thing over the last week and especial this weekend.

I disassembled the hydraulics because the lines I currently have will not work with the way I am mounting everything.



The Hydraulics were previously used in processing bees wax so everything is covered in wax... so I will have to clean everything as well as I can before Ican paint anything. How do you clean bees wax? this is how
Heat and lots of elbow Grease



I got it quite a bit cleaner but still a ways to go.
I got it mounted to the frame just to make sure everything works as it should.
The first time I mounted it and cycled it I noticed that the ram is so heavy that when it cycles it pulls down on the bender arm. I would like to keep everything as level as possible so I added a little arm under the ram, I placed a piece of 1/2 Delrin on top and as the ram moves it slides back and forth on the Delrin keeping everything nice and level.



A better shot of the arm, the Delrin will be attached its not in the picture



I got most of that stuff done during the week.
I had friday off and this is what I started with.



More to come on what I finished this weekend. Not much but progress is progress.
 
I got the valve cleaned up and got it mounted to the side of the main frame,
I will be running the lines below the frame so that the top of the main frame can be used as a small table, I hate the idea of having lines just floating around all over the place.



It took me awhile to figure out where to place the valve but I decided to place it on the inlet side of the bender so I can stand by the angle gauge and be able to reach the Valve comfortably. I also lengthened the handle just a bit to make it more comfortable to use. I made the extension removable just in-case I have a weird piece of tube that may contact the handle during bending.



This is where I finished up for the time being, I got the bottom rack mounted and its easily removable if need be and the middle rack is just being mocked up, trying to figure out how high or low I want it.

Also I installed a small vise I had floating around on the far end of the Main frame, not sure if it will stay there but it has been very handy in the 2 days its been there.



Now I need to figure out the hydraulic lines and finish the racks and it will be a functioning tool.
I plan on taking it all apart and painting it once complete so it actually looks decent.
 
Looking really good dude, I am truly shocked but not at all appalled keep up the progress. :D
 
Last edited:
I'm at the point where I am hooking up the hydraulic lines, but I'm having a hard time finding good 90 degree elbows for 1/2" and 3/8 lines. The lines in going with are NPT threaded but I'm seeing a lot of JIC stuff. Any one that has experience with this stuff what would you recommend?

Thanks
 
This project got put on the backburner for a few weeks had some other stuff come up.

Just ordered all the hydraulic lines and fitting so just got to get that all set up then tear it all down and paint it then its bendin time!

Then I just gotta figure out what im gonna bend :haha:

pictures coming in a few days of the finished product!
 
Got all the hydraulic fittings and lines in finally, if anyone is looking for this kind of stuff i highly recommend Blains Farm and Fleet website. I order stuff from Mcmaster and Grainger and Fastenal and all those other sites on a daily basis but I gotta say Farm and Fleet had them all beat on Price and availability.


I got 4 hoses all 1/2" and all the appropriate fittings and adapters the total for this stuff was about $120 shipped which was like half of what all the other places wanted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom