Tube technology in the spotlight at Southern Manufacturing

Unison Breeze 275mm

The Scarborough-based inventor of all-electric tube manipulation, Unison Ltd, will present the capabilities of its full range of tube bending machines, its Pneuform wire bending machines, and its advanced Opt2Sim Scan tube measurement system at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2026 (Stand G270). In addition to tube and wire manipulation technologies, visitors will also be able to learn more about the high quality, cost-competitive fibre lasers available from Unison’s sister company, Nukon Lasers UK.

As Britain’s leading manufacturer of tube bending machines, Unison offers all-electric benders for tube diameters from 4 to 275mm. Available in single-stack, multi-stack, left/right, pinball and twinhead versions, these advanced machines provide rapid, automatic setup, fast tooling changes and right-first-time repeatability — all supported by exceptional power and rigid mechanical design.

Also available, Unison’s hybrid-electric, dual-stack machines were developed to make the company’s quality and reliability accessible to even more businesses involved in tube manipulation. 50mm and 80mm maximum tube diameter hybrid-electric models are available.

On display and seen working ‘live’ will be one of Unison’s innovative EvBend 1000 manually operated, CNC-controlled tube-bending machines. Designed for low-volume, high-accuracy prototyping and production, Unison EvBend models are used across aerospace and MRO, Formula One and the oil and gas industry, where they provide three-axis mandrel, multi-plane bending at a fraction of the cost of fully automated machines.

In addition to the EvBend 1000 (pictured left), which is designed for bending tube of up to 16mm in diameter (22mm in copper), a larger machine, the EvBend 2000, is also available. Built to bend tube of up to 50mm in diameter, its bending function is servo-assisted. Both EvBend machines feature a 15in PC-based touchscreen controlled by a CNC that is capable of processing up to 100 bends per component, storing infinite parts and connecting to CAD and most tube measuring systems.

Since acquiring Pneuform — a leading name in the manufacture of wire forming and small-bore tube bending machines — in the autumn of 2023, Unison has worked hard to ensure the brand continues to lead the way in the wire-bending machinery market. All Pneuform machines are equipped with Yaskawa drives and Unison’s user-friendly software for easy programming and operation.

Rapid scanning of tube geometry
Quite possibly the most advanced hand-held tube measurement solution on the market, Unison’s Opt2Sim Scan system combines rapid scanning of tube geometry with easy extraction of tube data. Teamed with a Creaform handheld 3-D scanner to measure the tube or component they wish to replicate or measure, operators need only enter its bending data into Opt2Sim Scan, then compare measured tube dimensions to master file data and send any corrections directly to the bending machine. Offering considerable scan points without compromising speed, the constant reference geometry provided by Opt2Sim Scan ensures supremely accurate results, with ‘compare to master’ and feedback to the bending machine being quick and seamless.

Alan Pickering, Unison’s joint managing director, said: “Southern Manufacturing & Electronics is incredibly important to us. At the 2026 event we look forward to showing even more UK sub-contractors and manufacturers how all their tube and wire manipulation and laser-cutting needs are available from a British-based company that is renowned for providing uncompromising levels of service, support and after-sales care.”

Unison is the UK’s leading manufacturer of tube and pipe bending machines and continually innovates the tube and pipe bending marketplace. The company manufactured the world’s first all-electric tube bender in 1994, followed by the world’s first all-electric multi-stack tube bender, then the world’s largest all-electric tube bender for the shipbuilding industry.

Available in single-stack, multi-stack and right/left varieties, Unison machines are delivered to more than 20 countries globally. Unison’s tube-bending software is recognised as the most user-friendly control system for tube bending machines. The software is written and supported by Unison, ensuring complete control of its evolution, with no need for third party support.