Transforming Rigid Conduit Into Flexible Conduit
Electric conduit is often rigid in design and is used to protect and route wiring within a structure or along an outdoor area. Because of some building designs or the layout of the property, there will be occasions in which flexibility is necessary for the installation of conduit. Due to the thickness of conduit, manipulating the material by hand is not feasible and an electric bender may be required.
When A Bender May Be Useful
Electric conduit is used during construction projects and houses wiring that is being installed within a business or a home. Rigid materials that are used for conduit tend to be made out of metal or PVC. There are flexible conduit products on the market that contain a spiral construction or that are covered with plastic sheathing.
Flexible conduit is often used for short electrical runs, including those that involve wiring an appliance, a lighting feature, or a piece of outdoor equipment. A bender can be used to manipulate a rigid design, and this may be necessary during the primary installation of conduit and the notice that the original format of materials cannot be adequately installed without the use of a small flexible piece of conduit. A bender will eliminate the need to order custom-sized pieces and will allow an installation to continue.
How To Use A Hand Or Power Bender
Benders include hand, electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic models. A hand bender will be suitable for applications that require the manipulation of thin conduit materials. An electric bender is highly functional and can be used to create bends in a variety of conduit materials, including thin and thick ones.
A power bender will save your electricians time completing the installation of wiring. This type of machine will also increase precision in creating a wire section that will adequately fit in a proposed area. A bender will require a conduit to be squeezed between a metal shoe plate and the floor. A user will need to refer to a series of marks that are printed on a scale in order to acquire the desired degree of a bend.
The rigid conduit will slowly bend when a machine is actively operating. Once a machine indicates that the bend matches the targeted mark that is on the scale, a user can release the conduit. Due to a spring-back feature, it is recommended that the conduit is bent a little more than necessary.
Talk to an equipment supplier to get an electric conduit bender.