Tight –radius bends are a problem to all tube benders. On a tight radius, we can run into excessive flattening, cracking of the outside wall, or buckling in the inside wall (most commonly). The problem is intensified in transparent, thermoplastics benders, for we do...
Charles Busada
We had a request from an Escape Room manager to upgrade his Pneumatic Transfer System. There are many small systems out there that use PVC sewer pipe. It is an inexpensive tubing that does the basic job of moving a carrier vertically. But, a transparent section of...
We have extruded oval tubing for over a decade, but this is the first time we extruded it in our PETG (Provista) formulation. PETG has some advantages over CAB in that it is FDA and NSF compliant with food contact, and our employed formula has passed the NFPA 286...
We received a beautiful panoramic virtual tour of the Roasting Plant’s restaurant in Michigan. The engineering here is a work of art. We provide tubing and bends in a Provista PETG formula that is NSF-compliant and FDA-approved. Click this link for a beautiful...
A well-known entertainment company contacted us about a special project. They wanted a large OD tube to move along the sides and corners of an amusement building. But, their print called for an 8″ OD tube on a 24″ radius. This required a...
We were approached by a lighting manufacturer to form a suitable transparent casing and shell for an industrial light. Normally extruding this would be the answer, but the quantity needed did not justify the tooling. So, using a secondary fabrication process, we...
We can bend to almost any design. Here, we received a challenge from a breakfast nook company for a three-dimensional bend on a 3.259 OD Tritan tube. Pictured here is the model, we cannot show the final piece. The drawing shows the challenge. Here is the result....
We were recently asked to make an offset of a 5″ Sch 10 Tritan pipe. While Tritan has excellent Mechanical, Optical and Thermal Properties, it takes some skill to bend it. Offsets are particularly difficult, but here we have a Tritan bend in its cooling...
In July we received a print to bend tubing for a trade-show coffee roaster display. We had two weeks to meet a deadline. We elected to make the bends out of a 3″ OD butyrate tubing with a .125 wall. The bend radii were as tight as 8″ CLR. Dry ice worked as...
When the call came in to produce a large run of 6″ x 3.5″ Rectangular Butyrate Tubing in a short time, we got to work. From inquiry to drawing, design, tooling, and then to production it took 3 weeks. We were pleased with the results. Above, we see an...
We recently had quite a challenge from Metraflex regarding a transparent tight-radius 4” pipe 90° bend. They required a transparent 4” Sch 40 long-radius elbow to observe a metal fin in a fluid system. The pipe bend needed to maintain a tight tolerance for ovality as...
Recently we received a request for some “giant elbows, about a 15 ft. radius to load material up a silo. This was hard for me to comprehend— for these bends would be not only huge but bent three-dimensionally. When the prints and drawings came in this seemed...
Recently we had a request to make circular and helical small diameter bends for a lighting project. We designed special heaters for the project and made our prototypes with clear, transparent CAB (butyrate). The trick is proper annealing. We not only heat our bends to...
One of Monticello’s most memorable features is the Great Clock, designed by Thomas Jefferson and built by Peter Spruck in 1792. It is fully functional today. The clock, with both an interior and exterior face, (and loud chime) dictated the schedule of the entire...