Today designed applications and special orders are very popular in the world. Many agencies in Germany and Switzerland use really expensive and high-end technology tube bending machinery for architecture and designed tubular parts for outdoor and indoor use. With the new fashion for modern “metal and glass” buildings the tubes could be also the main part for the elegant constructions. Could be even not the part but the really monuments as in some US cities. Tubing is very popular not only for different handrails but for street furniture too. Unique pieces of stainless steel made by imagination of project engineers are the pretty part of the modern cities. Tent-like solid constructions, all circular stairs railings, roof covers – you just need to look around the best modern constructions in your city and study if they have tubes inside.
To move out from the classic street we can view the custom made boat railings. Expensive boats are every time the special and individual work so the railings (and as you can consider there are a lot on the boat) are every time different too.
What is the most interesting moment in tube bending? The classical 3D tube bending offers the movement of tube with any direction with some limitations and restrictions. But anyway it is the subject for any fantasy and idea to realize, just necessary to have the necessary tube bending tools according to your application. Usually companies involved in architecture use classic draw tube benders together with section benders (3 roller machines) because with them you do not have the necessity for tools of every radius of tube.
Tube bending part is much simpler to achieve than the classic metal construction parts. This is the reason why architecture moved to tube bending. To bend profiles more complicated for free-form solutions, other structures like bars – more complicated for machinery and realization.
The photo is the sculpture “Brain” by Paolo Matroian