A tube bending die rotates to cause the tube to be bent over the outer periphery of the die and uses a drive which includes a transducer for measurement of the bending moment required for bending the tube. The bending moment signal is used in conjunction with a signal indicating the total amount of bend to control the number of degrees of bending and to overbend the tube an amount which is a function of the bending moment required to bend the tube, to compensate for springback. In its simplest form, the bending die is a rotating element, and the drive for rotating the die can include a force measuring link which can be converted into bending moment required for bending is used as a measured parameter for an equation which provides a signal indicating the amount of angular overbending needed to compensate for springback in an online, real time process.