The minimum bend radius is an important guideline to be aware of when selecting a hydraulic hose. You need to be aware of any areas in your system where tight space constraints may cause hose to angle severely around a corner. As well, as a machine moves or a cylinder extends and retracts, the hoses attached to the moving parts may have to bend more than in the machinery’s stationary position.
This is also important when you’re talking about applications—and specificallly how tight you can have components mounted together and still have a hose fit between them. Additionally, if you have a hose that continually sweeps through an arc, something that is on a boom or whatnot, how far you can move those two moving connections before you can over-fatigue the hose.
There are lots of times where you can go smaller radius on a bend, but you can force it in a press to literally fold it in half, but at some point, they will fatigue and they will break. This is the minimum bend radius, so the smallest you should generally go for.
The specific minimum bend radius for a hydraulic hose is also dependent on the number of braids or spirals used in its construction. In general, the stiffer the hose/the more layers, the greater the minimum bend radius will be. Higher pressures and larger diameters will also add to the difficulty for a hose to bend in tighter configurations.
Filed Under: Hose Assembly Tips