40+ Years of Experience
Tube Forming Technologies with Wauseon TubeTech
Wauseon TubeTech builds the end forming, end finishing, and bending machines, develops the tooling that runs in them, and supports both for the life of the equipment. Tube up to 3 inches, from a single machine on your floor to finished parts delivered from ours.
What is tube end forming?
Tube end forming shapes the end of a tube into a finished feature, such as a bead, flare, swage, expansion, or quick connect, using a ram and matched tooling instead of welding on a separate fitting. The result is fewer parts, fewer welds, and fewer places for a joint to leak.
Most of the value is not in the machine. It is in knowing how your material will behave when it is formed, which is why the tooling and the machine need to come from the same place. We have been doing both for more than 40 years.
One Partner Across the Whole Tube Forming Process
Tooling Development
Custom forming tooling designed, machined, and proven out on our own tryout machines before it ever runs on your floor.
Standard Equipment
Five endformer series covering 3/8 to 3 inch tube, plus end finishing, tube bending, and integrated machining.
Full Production Support
Field service, spare parts, machine maintenance and repair, and finished parts supply. One team that knows your equipment because we built it.
Process Upgrades and Retrofits
Bring an older machine up to current controls, safety, and cycle time rather than replacing a machine that is still mechanically sound.
Our Standard Machine Range
We build endformers, end finishers, benders, and integrated machining equipment for tube from 3/8 inch to 3 inches, in hydraulic and electric servo configurations. Every machine is built to be robot loaded, so one you buy as a standalone can be integrated into a cell later without replacing it. All of it is CE certified for sale into the European Economic Area.
Which machine fits depends on your tube diameter, your material and wall thickness, the endform itself, and your volume. Our standard equipment page lays the full range out side by side so you can narrow it down before you talk to anyone.
A Solution for Every Need
How much of the operation you own is a business decision, not a technical one. We meet customers at each point on that line, and customers move along it as their volumes change.
Own It, Operate It — Full control in your hands. You purchase, run, and maintain the machine. We support you with tooling and service when you need it.
Own It, Automate It — Pair your machine with a robot for maximum output. Operators load parts and swap tooling — the system handles the rest, shift after shift.
Outsource, Utilize — No machine on your floor, no maintenance overhead. Wauseon TubeTech keeps your equipment and tooling ready at our facility and ships to you as needed.
If you are not sure which of those fits your operation, that is exactly the kind of conversation we like to have.
Why Manufacturers Choose Wauseon TubeTech
For more than 40 years, manufacturers have trusted us to design, build, and program tube forming equipment in house. That vertical integration means single-source accountability, fewer handoffs, and on-time delivery.
It also means the person who designed your tooling is down the hall from the person who built your machine and the engineer who will come out to service it. From complexity to confidence, we stay with you across the entire life of your equipment.
CE Certified Equipment
In-House Design, Build and Integration
Tooling Developed and Proven In House
Automation Ready Machines
Full Lifecycle Support
Our Tube Forming Process
Every tube forming project follows a proven path built to reduce risk and keep your timeline on track. Because we design, build, and program in house, you get one accountable team from first conversation to long-term support. It is how we move your project from complexity to confidence.
Step 1: Consult and Assess We learn your parts, volumes, and goals.
Step 2: Concept and Design We engineer the tooling and the machine and show you the options and payback.
Step 3: Build and Integrate We machine the tooling and build and program the equipment in house.
Step 4: Validate and Commission We prove out the form on a development machine before it reaches your floor.
Step 5: Support and Sustain We keep it running with service, spare parts, and retrofits.
Let’s Talk Through Your Tube Forming Project
A short conversation is the easiest way to figure out the right machine, the right tooling, and how much of the operation you want to own. No pressure and no obligation. Tell us what you are forming and we will help you find the path from complexity to confidence.
Frequently asked questions
What is tube end forming?
Tube end forming shapes the end of a tube into a finished feature such as a bead, flare, swage, expansion, or quick connect, using a ram and matched tooling. It replaces welding a separate fitting onto the tube, which removes parts, welds, and potential leak paths.
What size tube can Wauseon TubeTech form?
Our standard machines form ferrous, non-ferrous, and plastic tube up to 3 inches, or 76.2 millimeters, in outside diameter. The 1200 Series covers the small end at 3/8 inch and the 1600 Series covers the top of the range. Larger or unusual applications are handled as custom builds.
What endforms can your machines produce?
Beads, including front, back, single, double, Jiffy-Tite, SAE J1231, and SAE J1453 O-Ring Face Seal. Swages and reductions, expansions, flares to SAE J533, and combination endforms such as SAE J2044 quick connects.
What is the difference between end forming and end finishing?
End forming shapes the tube end into a feature. End finishing prepares the end before or after that, squaring it, trimming it to length, removing burrs and chips, and sizing it so the next operation starts from a consistent condition. Most production processes need both.
Do you develop the tooling as well as build the machine?
Yes, and it is the part of the process that matters most. We design the form progression, model material flow, machine the tooling in house, and prove it out on a dedicated tryout machine with an equivalent model for every machine we sell.
Are your machines automation ready?
Yes. Every machine is built to be loaded and unloaded by a robot, and we do the automation in house, so a machine you buy as a standalone can be integrated into a cell later without replacing it.
Do you support machines built by other manufacturers?
Yes. Whether the equipment is ours or another builder’s, we can integrate it, automate it, and service it.
Do you provide service after installation?
Yes. Our field service team offers preventive and general maintenance, troubleshooting, repairs, retrofits, warranty support, and spare parts across the full life of your equipment.
