Product Code: ICAL05_107

Large Diameter and Thin Wall Laser Tube Bending
Authors:
Wenwu Zhang, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Brian Farrell, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Carl Erikson, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Jie Zhang, Dept. of Mech. Engineering, Columbia University; NYC NY USA
Magdi Azer, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Marshall Jones, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Michael Graham, GE Global Research; Schenectady NY USA
Y. Lawrence Yao, Dept. of Mech. Engineering, Columbia University; NYC NY USA
Presented at ICALEO 2005

Large diameter and thin wall tube bending is challenging for mechanical methods. Although laser tube bending has been used for <2" diameter tubes, larger diameter laser tube bending is not thoroughly studied yet. This paper reports the challenges and our progress in large diameter laser tube bending. Special issues such as cooling, surface non-uniformity, and cross section deformation were investigated in comparison with small diameter tube bending.