Bringing tube bending and laser cutting to Southern Manufacturing

Unison, the UK-based inventor of all-electric tube manipulation, will present the capabilities of its full range of tube bending machines, its Pneuform wire bending machines, and its Opt2Sim Scan tube measurement system at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2026. In addition to tube and wire manipulation technologies, visitors to stand G270 will be able to learn more about the high-quality, intelligently priced fibre laser cutting machines 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 275 mm. Available in single-stack, multi-stack, left/right, pinball and twin-head versions, the machines provide rapid automatic set up, fast tooling changes and right-first-time repeatability – all supported by high 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. Both 50 and 80 mm maximum tube diameter hybrid-electric models are available.

High-accuracy tube bending

On show and operational on the stand will be one of Unison’s EvBend 1000 manually operated, CNC-controlled tube bending machines. Designed for low volume, high-accuracy prototyping and production, EvBend models are used across aerospace and MRO, Formula 1, 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, which is designed for bending tube of up to 16 mm in diameter (22 mm in copper), the larger EvBend 2000 is also available. Built to bend tube of up to 50 mm in diameter, its bending function is servo-assisted. Both EvBend machines feature a 15-inch 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.

Laser cutting and wire manipulation

Offering European-built fibre laser cutting machines and press brakes, Nukon Lasers UK has recently launched a new range of high-performance machines, priced to make fibre laser metal cutting available to even more UK subcontractors and in-house manufacturers. Since acquiring Pneuform – a leading name in the manufacture of wire forming and small-bore tube bending machines – in autumn 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.

Opt2Sim Scan – for rapid, precise and consistent results

Quite possibly the most advanced handheld 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 3D scanner to measure any tube or component the user wishes 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 accurate results, with ‘compare to master’ and feedback to the bending machine proving quick and seamless.

Quality, service and support

“Southern Manufacturing & Electronics is incredibly important to us,” says Unison’s Joint Managing Director Alan Pickering. “At the 2026 event we look forward to showing even more UK subcontractors and manufacturers how their tube and wire manipulation and laser-cutting needs are available from a British-based company renowned for uncompromising levels of service, support and aftersales care.”