Tube bending and fabrication equipment is used to produce finished parts from tubes and pipes. Operations include bending, swaging, flaring, notching, fixturing, assembling and beading. Tube bending and fabrication equipment is used to produce finished parts and assemblies from tubes and pipes. Tubes are hollow, metal or plastic conduits that are used as flow lines for fluids and gases in pneumatic, hydraulic, medical, and process applications. Tubes are usually smaller and less rigid than pipes, larger conduits that are used in transport systems for fluids and solids. Tube bending and fabrication equipment is used to perform operations such as bending, swaging, flaring and beading. Although most tubes and pipes are cylindrical, equipment that can fabricate products with oval, round, square and rectangular cross sections is commonly available. Additional capabilities for tube bending and fabrication equipment include annealing and heat treating, buffing and polishing, end flattening, plating and coating, slotting and notching, and piercing and punching. Most bendable tubes and pipes are made from materials such as aluminum, brass, carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel alloys, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plastics, titanium, and superalloys. Medical tubing is made from a variety of materials and is typically sterilized and small in diameter.

There are many different types of tube bending and fabrication equipment. CNC benders produce tight-radius bends, large-radius bends, and elliptical bends - all on the same part. Hydroforming equipment uses fluid pressure to form ferrous or nonferrous materials to the shape of a die. Mandrel benders or rotary-draw benders insert a mandrel into a pipe or tube during bending so that the shape is maintained and the bends are not deformed. Ram bending and pressure bending machines place a tube or pipe in a die. A hydraulic ram that contains the other half of the die then presses the tube or pipe. Roll benders are tube bending and fabrication equipment that uses three powered rollers in a triangular arrangement. Unlike mandrel bending, the inside of the tube or pipe is not supported. Heat bending equipment places an induction coil around the tube or pipe and applies a bending force as the object passes through the heated coil. Sand packing or hot-slab bending machines pack a pipe with sand, cap the ends, and apply heat. Tube bending and fabrication equipment also includes coiling equipment, thin-wall bending equipment, booster benders, handrail benders, and elbow benders.