The Model 32 Tube Bender is essentially a super heavy duty version of the Model 3.
However, when we initially designed it in the mid 1980's it was a mechanical bender targeted at racecar builders who wanted an affordable bender which still produced high quality bends. Hydraulics wasn't added until years later.
Fast forward 25 years and builders have changed gears. Now, rock crawler builders need to bend 2" o.d. x .250" wall DOM tubing and thin wall tubing is now more common than it was back then. We knew the basic principle of the Model 3 was near impossible to beat so the answer was to simply make it better. The Model 32 is the result.
Differences between the two benders are: Frame strength has been more than doubled and the 7/8" diameter 100,000 psi alloy pins were upgraded to 1 1/4" diameter.
A die locking mechanism was designed that both helps bend thin wall tubing as well as very heavy walled tubing by preventing the die from relaxing when not bending. Springback is the #1 cause of wrinkling thin walled tubing. The Model 32 has been designed for mechanical or hydraulic operation from day one. Its hydraulic swivel block rotates on the cylinders true center axis thereby eliminating side load on the ram during bending. This greatly extends the life of the cylinder. A one piece steel ram yoke with quick disconnect pin is now incorporated as well. An anti-springback ratchet is now included free with the bender. This allowed us to design a new ratchet lever system with more than a 20% reduction in bending effort. Geometry of the bender itself was altered to take better advantage of the new generation 3 followbars thus yielding better bends.
Drive link bolts and sleeves sizes have increased from 1/2" diameter to 3/4" to handle the extra load.
