Anyone have advice on bending ti tubing?

uk125250
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uk125250
Edited Date/Time 1/22/2012 9:01pm
I'm attempting to build a 1/6 scale model of a crf 450 and have .25" od ti tubing that I need to bend. I had limited success by putting a 3/8" rod in the tubing and used a small pipe bender on it. I got crimping in some areas. Does anyone have a better solution? Would heat help?
Thanks
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SteelTigers 5/18/2011 2:48pm
5/18/2011 2:48pm
What grade of Ti are you bending? Typically Ti can be bent using standard commercial benders like mandrel. You can also heat Ti up to about 450~500 degree's F., and produce good results. Because of the tensil strength of Ti, you might get galling and stress fractures doing a cold bend as you indicated by the crimping your experiencing...
uk125250
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uk125250 5/19/2011 2:23am
5/19/2011 2:23am
SteelTigers wrote:
What grade of Ti are you bending? Typically Ti can be bent using standard commercial benders like mandrel. You can also heat Ti up to about...
What grade of Ti are you bending? Typically Ti can be bent using standard commercial benders like mandrel. You can also heat Ti up to about 450~500 degree's F., and produce good results. Because of the tensil strength of Ti, you might get galling and stress fractures doing a cold bend as you indicated by the crimping your experiencing...
Thank you. What can I use to heat it to that temp? I'm not sure of the grade.
SteelTigers 5/19/2011 12:34pm
5/19/2011 12:34pm
SteelTigers wrote:
What grade of Ti are you bending? Typically Ti can be bent using standard commercial benders like mandrel. You can also heat Ti up to about...
What grade of Ti are you bending? Typically Ti can be bent using standard commercial benders like mandrel. You can also heat Ti up to about 450~500 degree's F., and produce good results. Because of the tensil strength of Ti, you might get galling and stress fractures doing a cold bend as you indicated by the crimping your experiencing...
uk125250 wrote:
Thank you. What can I use to heat it to that temp? I'm not sure of the grade.
Any butane torch readily available from hardware stores (like the ones plumbers use to solder copper tubing) work well. They operate upwards of 1500 + degree's F., and beyond. Most likely you have grade 5 (Ti 6AI-4V) as it is one of the most common. I would heat the alloy up to the point you can feel the formability becoming easier to bend. The amount of heat needed will be determined by the wall thickness of the tubing. You don't want to over heat and make it molting, but just enough to feel the alloy's formability giving way to your leverage to complete the bend. I wouldn't be to concerned with bringing the alloy up to a specific temperature because thickness and grades will determine what temp is needed to complete a bend without galling.
22Ryann
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22Ryann 5/20/2011 6:35am
5/20/2011 6:35am
fill with very fine sand, and heat and bend, this will hold its shape and not fold or crease too.

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Joko
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Joko 5/22/2011 4:48pm
5/22/2011 4:48pm
uk125250 wrote:
I'm attempting to build a 1/6 scale model of a crf 450 and have .25" od ti tubing that I need to bend. I had limited...
I'm attempting to build a 1/6 scale model of a crf 450 and have .25" od ti tubing that I need to bend. I had limited success by putting a 3/8" rod in the tubing and used a small pipe bender on it. I got crimping in some areas. Does anyone have a better solution? Would heat help?
Thanks
A little too much time on the hands?
sbarrington314 5/24/2011 7:54pm
5/24/2011 7:54pm
this sounds very interesting. hook us up with some pics of the progress. since i got hurt i started putting model cars together. but this is the ultimate model.
Bulldog Racing 5/25/2011 5:21pm
5/25/2011 5:21pm
Use a hair dryer, it works just fine.
sbarrington314 6/18/2011 5:31pm
6/18/2011 5:31pm
uk125250 wrote:
I'm attempting to build a 1/6 scale model of a crf 450 and have .25" od ti tubing that I need to bend. I had limited...
I'm attempting to build a 1/6 scale model of a crf 450 and have .25" od ti tubing that I need to bend. I had limited success by putting a 3/8" rod in the tubing and used a small pipe bender on it. I got crimping in some areas. Does anyone have a better solution? Would heat help?
Thanks
sooo, hows this project coming. im really interested.

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