VIVAERO

Leonardo chooses Unison CNC tube bender for Merlin helicopter maintenance

A manually operated, CNC-controlled tube bending machine from Unison is all set to assist Leonardo in ensuring the operational readiness of the AW101 Merlin helicopters based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall.

Yeovil-based Leonardo is the prime contractor for the UK Ministry of Defence’s Integrated Merlin Operational Support (IMOS) programme. Installed in April 2025, the tube bending machine - a Unison EvBend 1000 model - will be used to bend aluminium and titanium tubing ranging from 6mm to 18mm in diameter, with wall thicknesses from 0.5mm to 1mm. Parts produced will be used in the aircraft’s hydraulic systems. 

“Our support contract for Merlin helicopters requires us to respond promptly to all MRO requirements relating to the Culdrose fleet,” said Shane Lovett, Leonardo technical support service manager – IMOS. “It’s reassuring to know that as a UK-based business, Unison will never be more than a phone call or short distance away should we need assistance or support.”

Factory acceptance testing of Leonardo’s new EvBend 1000 machine took place at Unison’s Scarborough-based machine tool manufacturing facility in March 2025, with installation at RNAS Culdrose just a few weeks later. 

Simple to operate, with the added benefit of precise CNC control, the machine is already reducing the Culdrose team’s reliance on external component suppliers.

“It was a pleasure to assist Leonardo in their purchase of the EvBend 1000 for supporting Merlin helicopters at RNAS Culdrose,” says Luke Gibson, UK sales manager at Unison. “Designed for low volume, high-accuracy production and prototyping, our manually operated, CNC-controlled EvBend models are used widely across aerospace and MRO, Formula 1 and the oil & gas industry, where they provide 3-axis mandrel, multi-plane bending at a fraction of the cost of fully automated machines.” 

In addition to the manually operated EvBend 1000, which is designed for bending tube of up to 16 mm in diameter (22mm in aluminium and copper), Unison Ltd also offers a larger machine: the EvBend 2000. Built to bend tube of up to 50mm in diameter, the EvBend 2000’s bending function is servo-assisted. Both models 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 both CAD and most tube measuring systems.

www.unisonltd.com