Information
On occasion, people still ask for "hot bends" when they don't really want or need their bends bent hot. This seems to be a term residual from a time when people used it to differentiate field bends from shop bends as there was a time when shop cold bending was not a readily available option. In most cases, the oil companies do not have a preferred bending method as long as it meets code, usually CSA Z662 and Z245.11, but also the applicable ASME codes.
Sometimes the engineers involved with certain projects will have specific reasons for requiring one bend method but that is not common. Apart from cold bending (usually meaning compression bending or rotary draw bending) and hot bending (furnace bending, sand-filled or empty) there are other methods such as induction bending which is a type of hot bend. Post-bend heat treatment is required for certain users for some materials but this is not required or requested for the majority of pipeline bends regardless of bending method. All methods have pros and cons and no one method can be used for everything.
For the majority of bends made for pipeline work, especially for sizes 12"ø and under, cold bending is acceptable to the majority of end users, pipeline engineers and field project managers.
We make hundreds of bends each year for many different clients using cold bending methods. All our bends come complete with mill test reports, destructive and nondestructive testing as required by CSA code and project reports.