Albina Co. Inc., based in Tualatin, Oregon, has mastered spiral bending large HSS sections using an induction heat bending process. In summer 2015, Albina developed custom induction heat bending equipment and controls through intensive R&D. Their process is fully automated, numerically controlled, and continuously monitored for temperature.
Soon after launching their process, Albina received many HSS spiraling orders from across North America. Within a few months, Albina tackled their toughest challenge yet: spiral bending HSS measuring 20” x 12” x .625” wall on a 13’ 9” radius with a 14-degree pitch. They had never before bent a member this large, with such a tight spiral and radius.
Albina’s induction heat bending process handled the spiral stringers with excellent results. The maximum deformation measured only 1/8” per nominal dimension. In total, Albina spiral bent 450 lineal feet of HSS to tight tolerances with zero rejects on this project.
Over the last few years since this “test,” Albina has improved their induction heat bending process with every lesson learned. They have spiral bent thousands of feet of HSS sections, ranging from 10” x 3” to 20” x 12,” using this method.
For more information about the process, please visit the webpage below.
https://www.albinaco.com/steel-bending-methods/induction-bending
