Tube & Pipe Fabrication

Tube & pipe fabrication cuts, bends, and forms hollow profiles into accurate, ready-to-assemble fluid, structural, and exhaust components at scale.

Overview

Tube & pipe fabrication covers cutting, bending, and forming hollow metal profiles into precise shapes for structural frames, fluid lines, exhausts, and handrails. Core sub-processes include tube cutting (to length, mitering, coping), tube bending (mandrel, rotary draw, roll), and tube forming (end flaring, swaging, beading, expanding, reducing). Shops can hold tight control on length, bend angle, and end geometry for repeatable assemblies.

Use tube & pipe fabrication when your part is primarily a hollow section that needs controlled paths and interfaces, not heavy material removal. It excels at medium to high volumes of bent or formed tubes with consistent geometry and decent structural performance. Tradeoffs: very tight bends, extreme accuracy, or complex end features may require mandrel tooling or custom form tools, which increase cost but pay off in repeat runs. For straight or simply bent profiles, this route is usually the most economical way to build frames, manifolds, and routing lines.

Common Materials

  • Stainless steel 304
  • Carbon steel DOM
  • Aluminum 6061
  • Mild steel ERW
  • Copper
  • Titanium Grade 2

Tolerances

±0.010" on cut length, ±0.5° on bend angle, ±0.030" on bend location (tighter with dedicated tooling)

Applications

  • Automotive and motorsport roll cages
  • Hydraulic and pneumatic hard lines
  • Exhaust headers and piping
  • Furniture and equipment frames
  • Handrails and safety guards
  • Heat exchanger and chiller coils

When to Choose Tube & Pipe Fabrication

Choose tube & pipe fabrication when the part is primarily a hollow section that must follow a defined path with controlled bends and end features. It fits structural frames, flow lines, and exhausts at low to high volumes, especially when you need consistent geometry across many identical parts. It is ideal when you can design around standard tube sizes and practical bend radii.

vs CNC machining

Pick tube & pipe fabrication when the part’s function is satisfied by a hollow profile and you do not need complex 3D milled features. It uses less material, reduces weight, and usually costs less than machining a similar path from solid bar, especially at higher quantities.

vs Sheet metal fabrication

Use tube & pipe fabrication when you need linear stiffness, clean aesthetics, and simple joints instead of built-up box sections. Tubes provide better strength-to-weight for frames and guards, and you can achieve smooth, continuous bends instead of multi-piece welded corners.

vs 3D printing

Choose tube & pipe fabrication for long, straight or gently curved profiles where standard tube sizes work and you need strong, low-cost parts. It outperforms 3D printing for structural rails and fluid lines in metals when surface finish, durability, and per-part cost at volume matter.

vs Metal casting

Select tube & pipe fabrication when the geometry is essentially a routed hollow section rather than a bulky, complex 3D shape. Bent and formed tubes give you internal flow paths or frames with minimal tooling, much faster and cheaper than developing casting molds for similar functions.

vs Welded fabrication from straight cut sections

Prefer tube bending and forming when you can replace multiple cut-and-welded joints with continuous bends. This reduces weld labor, improves alignment, and increases fatigue life compared to assembling many straight pieces with miters and joints.

Design Considerations

  • Choose standard tube and pipe sizes and wall thicknesses to match common tooling and lower material cost
  • Keep minimum bend radius at or above 1.5× OD (or tooling capability) to avoid wrinkling, flattening, or expensive custom mandrels
  • Minimize the number of distinct bend radii and planes; group bends to what can be done in one setup on standard equipment
  • Provide clear datums, bend centerline data, and end-condition callouts (flares, beads, threads, weld preps) in the model and drawing
  • Allow sufficient straight length between bends and at tube ends for clamp tooling, usually at least 2–3× OD
  • Specify tolerances only as tight as functionally necessary, especially on overall length, bend angle, and clocking, to keep forming and inspection costs down