Bending Operations

Modeling: Tools > Bend Tools > Bend Shape
Modeling: Tools > Bend Tools > Bend Layer Stackup
Modeling: Tools > Bend Tools > Cylindrical Bend

The operation Bend Shape and Bend Layer Stackup allows you to wrap one or more thin planar sheets or shapes around a solid. The operation Cylindrical Bend wraps the solids around a mathematical defined cylinder. For the Cylindrical Bend operation you do not need any reference solid.

Sheets can be created by covering a planar curve or by creating a brick with zero height.

Limitations: Imprints of the shapes will be lost with the bending operation. Already bent shapes or shapes which are non flat thin shapes cannot be bent. Furthermore, you can only bend shapes where every body is considered to be the result of a linear extrusion. When you use the EDA import, it means that you have to set the Etch undercut import option to 'None' for all layers.

Bend Shape

You may bend on solids that consist of a developable surface (e.g. planar, cylindrical, conical, or spline surfaces) or on solids that consist of a not developable surface (e.g. spherical, toroidal surfaces or faces created by sweeping a spline curve along a non-linear path).

Note that when bending on solids with not developable surfaces then it is not assured that the edge lengths are preserved.

First select the sheets or thin shapes you want to bend and then follow the steps on the screen.

Bend Shape >

Please note: For multiple selected sheets or shapes it is necessary that all sheets or shapes lie in the same plane, and at least one sheet or shape lies on the surface of the solid. Furthermore, the bending can only be performed on shapes where every shape is considered to be the result of a linear extrusion.

Bend Layer Stackup

In case you have defined the sheets and shapes in a layer stackup then use this operation to bend them. The length of the layers will be adapted flexible such that they match together after the bending.

There are three possibilities to start the bending operation:

Select a Group Folder: Create a group folder and sort into each group item all shapes that belong to a common layer. Notice that the shapes in one group item have to lie in the same plane.
Select a Material Folder: Create a material folder and sort into each material item all shapes that belong to a common layer. Notice that the shapes in one material item have to lie in the same plane. For PCB imports a layer stackup is automatically created in a material folder during the PCB import, and may directly be used for the layer stackup bending.
Select all Shapes in Components: You may also select all shapes that belong to the entire layer stackup in the Components of the Navigation Tree. The layer stackup is then automatically created internally.

Bend Layer Stackup >

Examples (Bend Shape)

Example of the workflow (Bend Shape)

Bend sheet on cylinder or cone

Bend sheet on sphere

Bend sheet on a solid that consists of a not developable surface

Examples (Bend Layer Stackup)

Example of the workflow (Bend Layer Stackup)

Bend a printed-circuit board (PCB) design on a solid

Example of the workflow (Bend Shape)

1. Step: Select sheet to bend	2. Step: Select solid to bend on	3. Step: Select face to bend on

4. Step: Select the next face to bend on	5. Step: Select the next face to bend on	6. Step: Finish the bending operation by pressing RETURN

Example: Bend sheet on cylinder or cone

For bending a sheet on a cylinder or a cone, it is important to align the sheet correctly on the cylindrical or conical shell.

Note that the bending might not work if the sheet intersects the solid.

To ensure that the sheet is placed correctly on the solid, follow the next steps.

1. Step: Align the local wcs on a point on the solid	2. Step: Pick the cylindrical or conical surface	3. Step: Align wcs on the picked face

4. Step: Create or align your sheet in the u-v-plane	5. Step: Bend the sheet on the solid as explained in the previous example

Example: Bend sheet on sphere

When bending a sheet on a sphere then the sheet is bent on the parameter space of the sphere. Spheres are singular in u at the poles. Therefore bending is not possible when the projection of the sheet lies on the pole of the spherical face.

To display the poles of the sphere, you may use View: Options > View Options> Specials () and check Draw surface facets outline.

The next steps show the bending of a sheet on a sphere:

1. Step: Align the sheet on the sphere	2. Step: Pick the spherical surface	3. Step: Bend the sheet on the sphere

Example: Bend sheet on a solid that consists of a not developable surface

For creating a solid with a not-developable or doubly-curved surface, we are sweeping a spline curve along a non-planar path.

1. Step: Create a spline curve, and align local wcs on an endpoint of the curve and rotate it 90 degree by v-axis	2. Step: Create a new spline curve by starting in the origin of the local wcs	3. Step: Sweep first curve along second curve (each curve item has to be in its own curve component)

4. Step: By thickening the selected face you get a solid with a doubly-curved surface	5. Step: To create your sheet(s) which you want to bend, first align local wcs with a point on the face, and then with the face of the solid.	6. Step: Now bend the sheet(s) on the solid as explained in the firsts example