How OEMs Choose the Right Tube Bending Manufacturers
Tube bending manufacturers offer bending operations merely as an aside to tube manufacturing itself. The question really shifts from finding the right tube bending manufacturers into finding the right tube manufacturer.
Whether it’s a plastic tube where extrusion is needed to create products that feature the same wall thickness throughout with strong cross-sections, or it’s a metal tube where plenty of fabrication and welding operations are needed, when tubes need bent, it’s critical to find the right base production company.
RB Royal reveals its internal checklist that OEM customers have used to land on partnering with the right tube bending manufacturer.
Tube Manufacturing Capabilities with a Focus on Bending
When OEM decision makers are reviewing tube bending manufacturers to consider partnering with, there’s more focus on actual tube manufacturing itself rather than bending capabilities.
In the focus of fluid transfer systems, tube manufacturers need to be backed with proper engineering capabilities from the onset. This means establishing extremely thorough design for manufacturability not only to ensure that the tubes can be manufactured, but that bending operations are only going to enhance the tubes rather than damage or defect them.
Engineering capabilities of a tube manufacturer should always focus on pre-manufacturing operations such as design for manufacturability reviews. Ensuring that tubes can be manufactured as well as properly bent after production has taken place. Beyond design considerations, engineering also entails selecting the right material to match product application as well as prototyping capabilities to gauge what changes, if any, need to be made to the initial design before costly tooling takes place.
Quality Management Operations
Any successful manufacturing operation that includes secondary operations such as tube bending is backed by high level, thorough quality management systems. Companies that highlight an ISO 9001 certification are reaching the industry standard.
Going beyond the standard is what separates the good manufacturers from great manufacturers, and ultimately, finding the right manufacturer.
Quality management operations can entail several key capabilities such as proper documentation and verification of ECRs, conducting internal testing and verification, and maintaining systems of third party verification for all fixtures.
Manufacturers like RB Royal know the difference that high level quality management systems can make. Our fully equipped on-site testing lab is equipped to check virtually every detail from dimensions to cleanliness testing. We perform formal production part approval process, dimensional layouts, process flow diagrams, failure mode effects analysis, control plans, material and performance tests, and part submission warrants.
RB Royal: One of America’s Premier Tube Bending Manufacturers and Much More
Since 1942, RB Royal has served as turnkey manufacturer of custom fluid transfer system components, delivering high-quality parts for OEMs, supplier programs, and other customer bases.
Our 90,000 square foot facility in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was custom designed and built for flexibility, including full turnkey tube manufacturing capabilities with tube bending operations readily available on-site. Through a mix of CNC and robotic capabilities, RB Royal’s tube bending operations are tailored to the custom experience.
No matter the operation, our customers know that when they partner with RB Royal, quality management back everything we do. While we’ve been ISO 9001 certified for nearly 30 years, that’s merely hitting the industry standard. Our quality management systems include multiple forms of part inspection and validation through testing to ensure components not only were manufactured correctly by design specs, but also that they work.
Your search for tube bending manufacturers ends today. Contact the RB Royal team and let’s set up an initial consultation to review your project and get started.