Net‐end bending for aerospace tubing

Like most modern manufacturing processes, tube bending and inspection is evolving from its “black art” origins. Tube processing has progressed through the use of manual and semiautomatic machinery, mylar templates, set‐up blocks, master samples and attribute gauges. Current production and quality improvements and requirements demand advancing the tube bending process from “art” to “science”. Using a VMM (vector measuring machine) and a computer numerically controlled (CNC) automatic bender advances this science.