Brass Tube Bending

For standard or bespoke tooling, Pipecraft provides expert brass tube bending services, from prototypes and one-off components through to repeat production runs. For more information on our capabilities, please visit our tube bending page.

Why choose brass?

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, valued for its warm golden appearance, durability and workability. Brass tubing is available in round, square and rectangular forms.

It’s valued for:

  • Attractive finish that polishes to a bright, decorative look
  • Good ductility and formability for bending and rolling
  • Good corrosion resistance
  • Easily brazed and soldered
  • Naturally antimicrobial surface, ideal for high-touch areas such as handrails
  • Good thermal and electrical conductivity
  • Highly sustainable, as it can be easily recycled

Typical applications for brass tube bending include:

  • Architectural and hospitality
  • Furniture and shopfitting
  • Lighting and decorative metalwork
  • Marine
  • Plumbing and fittings
  • Automotive

Brass tubing grades

Brass tube suited to bending is typically supplied in the annealed (soft) condition. Commonly used grades include CZ108 (CW508L), a 63/37 brass with good cold-forming properties, and CZ106 (CW505L), a 70/30 brass with excellent ductility for deeper forming and tighter radii.

Free-cutting leaded grades such as CZ121 are designed for machining and are generally not suitable for bending, so it’s worth discussing your requirements with us before you specify material.

Brass work-hardens as it is bent, so very tight radii or complex multi-bend forms may need intermediate annealing. For thin-walled tube and tight bends, mandrel bending reduces the risk of collapse, ovality and surface marking, which is particularly important for polished, visible components.

Finishing options include polishing, brushing and lacquering to protect against tarnishing, as well as plating. As a general comparison, brass tube is slightly heavier than steel tube of the same outside diameter and wall thickness.

To discuss your brass bending requirements, please contact us.