Bending is one job. Swaging and expanding are two more — and the 1302BA does all three

Shops that buy a pipe bender usually discover the same thing in the first month: the bend was never the whole job. An exhaust section that has been bent still has to be sized at the ends so it slips into the next component and clamps up without leaking. On a lot of machines that means a second piece of equipment, a second footprint and a second setup. This 1302BA package puts the finishing operations on the back of the same machine.

Two separate end-finishing units sit at the rear for flaring and expanding, alongside a high-speed clampless swager and an internal expander. The drop-in collar means moving from a bend to a swage is a change of position rather than a change of machine, and the swager box is open-sided so tools go in and come out without being fought into place.

Why end-finishing on the same frame matters more than it sounds

The argument is not that it saves buying a second machine, although it does. It is that a pipe only has to be handled once. Every time a part is carried between machines and re-clamped it is a chance to mark it, bend it slightly out of true, or set it up a degree off. Doing the bend and both ends on one frame, with the tooling laid out in trays at the machine, keeps the part in one pair of hands from raw tube to finished section.

The frame is what you are actually paying for

Under the tooling this is a hydraulic press with a purpose. The top cylinder develops up to 60,000 lbs. (27,216 kg) of force, and the structure that has to absorb that is a welded steel tube frame in 6" x 6" section with 3/8" wall. That matters because a frame that twists under load does not bend pipe badly — it bends pipe inconsistently, which is worse, because the first article passes and the tenth does not.

The cylinder stem passes right through the primary frame rather than being cantilevered off it, the barrel is one piece so the bending gates stay aligned with the ram, and the bending heads and tooling mounts are ground to within .002". Cylinders are commercial-grade with chrome-moly shafts conforming to ANSI 92.2 — a material and manufacturing standard for the shafts themselves, not a safety listing for the machine, and worth reading as exactly that. A 5 HP motor drives a direct-drive 4 gpm pump; a canister filter, a large reservoir, oil sight gauges and 1/2" oversized high-pressure hose exist to keep the oil clean and cool, which is the single biggest determinant of how long a hydraulic system lasts.

What it will bend

Tube capacity is 3" (76 mm) outside diameter at up to .095 wall. Bending radius runs from 3.3" (89 mm) at the tightest to 5" (127 mm) at the widest, so both a close radius around an obstruction and a long sweeping curve are available from the same machine. The standard 302 die pack covers 1.5", 1.625", 1.75", 2", 2.25" and 2.5". A 180° bending die is offered separately for genuine U-bends.

Perfect for

• Exhaust shops building custom systems rather than fitting pre-made ones.
• General fabrication shops handling tubing alongside their other work.
• Roll cage, chassis and race preparation builders.
• Agricultural, marine and industrial repair operations that make their own pipework.
• Any shop currently sending tube work out and waiting on it.

What is in the package

• The 1302BA digital automatic bender with its enclosed programmable control.
• Tooling to standard 302 die sizes, with quick-release bending and finishing dies and twist-lock mounting.
• Two rear end-finishing units, a clampless swager, an internal expander and the drop-in collar.
• Integrated power-relief control valve, pressure gauges, a NEMA-rated switch box with overload relays, industrial casters and tool trays.

Confirm the electrical supply before you order

Published figures for the electrical supply differ. The product heading and the specification table both give the motor as 5 HP at 208-230 VAC, 60 Hz, single phase; the short search description published with this listing gives a three-phase build at the other mains frequency. Confirm the electrical configuration with us in writing before you order, and tell us what supply you have available in the bay — we will get the current figure straight from BendPak and state it on the order. A bender delivered on the wrong supply is an expensive object standing still while an electrician is found.

One smaller point in the same table: the dimensions block prints the label "Depth" twice, against 64" (1,626 mm) and again against 26" (660 mm). The 26" figure is one of the machine's three principal dimensions, but the table does not say which axis it belongs to, so we have not assigned it one. If you are planning the footprint to the inch, ask and we will confirm it from the manufacturer's specification sheet.

Getting it into the shop

The machine occupies roughly 41" (1,041 mm) by 64" (1,626 mm) on the floor with the third dimension noted above, and it rolls on industrial casters once it is down — but it weighs 1,388 lbs. and ships crated at 48" x 70" x 30" (1,219 mm x 1,778 mm x 762 mm). Plan the route in: door widths, thresholds, any step, and whether the floor between the dock and the machine's final position will take that weight on castors. Allow working room at the rear as well as the front, because the end-finishing units are used from behind the machine.

Shipping and delivery

This item ships free within the lower 48 states, so there is nothing to add at checkout. Unloading is the receiver's responsibility: a forklift rated for the crate, or collection from the carrier's terminal, which many buyers prefer because the terminal has the equipment on hand. A residential delivery address carries a residential fee, applied at checkout when it is selected.

Inspect the crate before signing. Look for impact damage to the crate, bent tooling, damaged gauges or control housings and any sign of hydraulic oil. Write what you find on the bill of lading with the driver present and photograph it — once you sign clean, the carrier's record says the machine arrived perfect.

Warranty

BendPak publishes a written warranty document covering its equipment and we hold the current copy; ask for it before ordering if the terms matter to you. A hydraulic machine warning worth repeating: if something fails, raise the claim before anything is opened. Dismantling a cylinder, the pump or the control enclosure ahead of a claim is normally treated as modification and cover generally does not survive it. Photograph the fault, note the serial number, and call us first.