Rotary draw bending is a cold bending method where the member is clamped to a rotating bend die and drawn around the bend die. The tailing tangent is held against the bend die by a pressure die, and the bend die rotates until the desired geometry is formed. A mandrel is often placed inside the member to restrain cross-sectional distortion during the bending process. Bends can also be formed with special draw-bending equipment where deformations are controlled by tensioning along the member axis. Rotary draw bending is commonly used to form small radius bends in smaller-size round, square and rectangular HSS members. Specific tooling is required for each member size, shape and bend radius; therefore, this method is best suited for projects requiring many identical bends. This bending method is primarily used in the machine and parts industry (Weisenberger, 2016) and for piping (Riviezzi,1984). The maximum degree of bend is 180°, but the minimum bend radii of round HSS is approximately 50% smaller than that of other cold-bending methods (Riviezzi, 1984). Have a need for consistent, accurate, and repeatable bent steel parts, hit us up today! We are standing by ready to assist!
Blog posts tagged with 'Steel Rolling'
Our bent steel can be seen on various applications in the auto, marine, aviation, locomotive, agricultural and food processing sectors. Our bends are used on locomotive frames, boat frames, agricultural equipment, automobiles, aircraft, deck rails and we even bend components for homeland security helping to protect our docks and ports.








The Barbara Walker Crossing Footbridge, along the Wildwood Trail in Portland, Oregon, is up for the International CODA Award for commissioned art around the world. Click to watch the YouTube Video featuring the bridge. The bridge, designed by local artist, Ed Carpenter, is 178’ long measured at the center of its curving deck. Its basic structure is a tri-chord truss of rusting and painted steel. Carpenter’s design evokes imagery of the sword ferns and vine maples lining the entire length of the Wildwood Trail. This project is a collaborative effort of the Portland Parks Foundation in partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), and Metro. Albina Co., Inc. bent 3½" SCH80 A847 and 5" SCH40 A847 all rolled to various radii, as well as 1" SCH40 A53B, 1½" SCH40 A53B, 1½" SCH80 A53B all rolled to various radii. For more examples of curved steel pedestrian bridges that we have been a part of check out the Architectural & Structural Section of our website. (Photo Credit: Ed Carpenter).


Photo Credit: @haleyhillphotography
One of Southern California's iconic, flagship waterfront restaurant sites - 1360 North Harbor Drive along the North Embarcadero, is getting a facelift! The Port of San Diego and The Brigantine, Inc. began construction in July 2018 to redevelop Portside Pier including introducing four new dining concepts and enhancing the panoramic views of San Diego Bay for daily visitors. Albina Co., Inc. provided 60,000 pounds of various bent materials for the unique curved roof structure as well as for a signature spiral staircase that leads from the dock to the second floor public walkway and viewing deck.
Materials bent by Albina Co., Inc. included:
TS 14" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (6 pieces spiral bent the easy way as tight as a 17 ft plan view radius, 4 pieces bent the easy way as tight as a 17 ft inside radius.)
TS 12" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (8 pieces bent the easy way as tight as a 2’ 7” outside radius, 8 pieces spiral bent the easy way as tight as a 2’ 7” plan view radius.)
TS 8" X 8" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (84 pieces bent to various radii and configurations.)
TS 18" X 6" X .375" WALL A500 GR B (4 pcs bent the hard way.)
W10 X 12# A992 (9 pcs bent the hard way.)
W18 X 35# A992 (15 pcs bent the hard way.)
W16 X 26# A992 (2 pcs bent the hard way.)
W14 X 22# A992 (13 pcs bent the hard way.) Photo Credit: Encore Steel




Albina recently bent 37,000# of HSS for the Living Waters Express Car Wash in Aurora, Colorado. The concept for the Living Water Express Car Wash was to design a building that resembled flowing water. For more info on the project go to https://linktr.ee/AlbinaCoInc . To help our customer achieve their goals, we bent various materials including:TS 10" X 2" X .250" WALL A500 GR B- 10 pcs bent the hard way
TS 10" X 8" X .250" WALL A500 GR B- 6 pcs bent the hard way
TS 10" X 8" X .375" WALL A500 GR B- 6 pcs bent the hard way
TS 10" X 8" X .313" WALL A500 GR B- 4 pcs bent the hard way
TS 8" X 8" X .250" WALL A500 GR B- 4 pcs bent
3" X 3" X ¼" ANGLE A36- 36 pcs bent leg in
TS 8" X 2" X .250" WALL A500 GR B- 2 pcs bent the easy way



Photo Credit: University of Oregon Track & Field
We were thrilled to be an integral part of reconstructing Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Hayward Field is the world-class home to @OregonTF. Albina created the curved steel diaphragm used to support the roof structure and provided various bent materials to help construct the landmark tower at the northeast corner of the facility. Designers wanted to create a structure that was open and airy, allowing spectators to enjoy great views and natural daylight, in an intimate environment. See https://linktr.ee/AlbinaCoInc for pictures, video and more!
For the roof, we rolled 600 lengths, varying from 28’-0” to 75’-6” long, of 14" OD X .375" / .500 WALL A500-18 GRADE B&C. That is 1,500,000# lot weight (750 tons) of rolled steel, 32 inbound trucks and 90 outbound trucks. The 14” OD material was laid over the top of the plate that we bent for this project. We bent 300 lengths, varying from 3’-0” to 37’-0” long, of PLATE 1½" THICK X 16¾" WIDE A572 GR. 50 and PLATE 1½" THICK X 10" WIDE A572 GR. 50.
In addition to the iconic roof, the tower at Hayward (187 feet tall) creates a community landmark honoring the first 100 years of track and field at Oregon. We rolled 400 lengths, varying from 20’-0” to 60’-0” long, of Tube Steel 8" X 4" X .500" WALL A500 GR B, 8-5/8" OD X .625" WALL A500C WHEELED, 8-5/8" OD X .375" WALL A500C WHEELED, 8-5/8" OD X .250" WALL A500C WHEELED, and Flat Bar 3/8" X 4½" A36. That is 330,000# lot weight (165 tons) of rolled steel, 10 inbound trucks and 16 outbound trucks!
Our work was extremely precise, and we had zero rejected parts by the fabricator, Fought & Co., Inc. When measuring the work points during fabrication, they never once had to heat up or adjust the bending. To make the erection process go smoothly, we marked every 3-4 feet on the centerline back of the pipe to assist in the layout process for the diagrid “fish-mouth” stubs, and up-stands for the roofing system.




Albina bent some channel for a boardwalk at the Evelyn Schiffler Memorial Park in Beaverton, OR. In the very center of the park, a 2.4-acre wetland attracts native wildlife. It can be appreciated from two long stretches of boardwalk consisting of:
7,600# (18 lengths x 40 ft) of bent C6 X 10.5# A36
All parts were bent the hard way to AESS standards.
110 ft minimum bent to a 296 ft radius
176 ft minimum bent to a 213 ft radius
160 ft minimum bent to a 206 ft radius
121 ft minimum bent to a 303 ft radius
All Material Bent by Albina Co., Inc. Customer fit and fabricated.
Boy how the tide has turned! No longer do I hear, “I don’t want to go to school today!” Instead I hear, “I can’t wait until we get to go back to school!” Kids across the country are gaining a new appreciation for how important it is to physically be able to enter their school buildings to learn. We have been very fortunate to be involved in a number of projects at schools across the nation including custom spiral and circular staircases, curved steel signs, curved steel artwork, curved steel canopies, and more!
Todays Highlight: Curved Steel at our Nation’s Schools & Universities









“We have to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles and work. Or waffles, friends, work. But work has to come third.” Leslie Knope Parks & Recreation Quote Ha!
Todays Highlights: Curved Steel in our Parks & Recreational Facilities









Oh, The Places You’ll Go- “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!” -Dr. Suess. I know we are all anxiously awaiting the day that we can back out on the roads, in the skies, on the rails, or whatever your preferred form of travel may be. Keep the faith and check out a few of the transportation projects we have been a part of over the years.








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