Header Design

Bend-Tech 7x Wiki :: Header Design Module

• The header design interface allows header tubes to be created and edited.

To open a new header design:

1.) Go to the File menu, select New -> Header.

2.) Select the New Assembly icon at the top of the window.

...OR

3.) Select the Header Design option from the Task Menu that appears when the software starts up, when all designs are closed, or through the view menu.

Icon Toolbar

• The Tool Bar is the row of icons just below the Main Menu Bar.

Select the New Part icon to open the create new menu. This menu will allow you to choose a new part designer interface and begin a new part design.

Select the New Assembly icon to open a new assembly design. See the Assembly page for further information on creating an assembly.

Select the New Plate icon to open a new plate design. See the Plate page for further information on designing a plate.

Select the New Header icon to open a new header design.

Select the Open icon to open a part, assembly, plate, or header file.

Select the Save icon to save the current active window's progress. If the current window is a new and hasn't been saved previously, the part will need to be given a name and location. Click 'Save' in the Save window to save.

Select the Print icon to print out an image of the current view of the header design.

Select the Print Preview icon to view a preview of the header design image print out.

Select the Solidworks icon to import a part file from Solidworks that has been sent to Bend-Tech.

Select the Display menu to alternate between a line or shaded part model.

Select the Refresh icon to refresh the part display.

Select the Home button to reset the 3D part display to its original default view.

Select the Zoom button to zoom all the way in on the current view of the 3D part display and fit it to the display frame.

Select on the Transfer menu to send

Select on the Projections icon to view the current design from a specified plane (top, bottom, left, right, front, or back) or from a certain angle.

Header Chart

• In the header chart shown above the part display, each tube will be listed along with its die, material, color, length, number of bends, weight, and key number.

To change the die of an individual part, click in the die field and select a die from the menu.

To change the material for a part, click in the material field and select a material from the menu.

To change the color of a part, click in the color field and select a color from the menu.

Tabs

• A majority of the header design features and functions are located in the tabbed section on the right hand side of the window. To find information about how to use these features, see the links below.

Main

Points

Edit

Steps

Dimensions

Explode

Details

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Header Menu

Material

• In the material menu, the material for the parts in the header can be selected. To select a material, click the drop down menu and choose a material from the list. This material can be changed for each individual part later, this is just the material that is initially applied to new parts. Tube/pipe materials are defined in the Tube/Pipe Library.

Die

• In the die menu, the die used to bend the parts in the header design can be selected. To select a die, click the drop down menu and choose a die from the list. This can be changed for each individual part later, this is just the die that is initially applied to new parts. Dies are defined in the Die Library.

Straight

• To create a straight tube between two PickPoints, select the "Straight" button and click any two PickPoints or Auto points (points that are automatically generated along parts, such as mid points, apex point, or start and end of bend points ) in the display window.

Bent

• To create a new bent part, select the "Bent" button. To design the part, you must select the start point and the location of each bend, and the end point of the part.

Entities

• The Entities tool controls which parts and points are displayed in the header.
• Select the "Entities" button to open up this menu. Each row will represent straight part, bent part, and PickPoint.
• To hide a certain feature, select the green box to remove the X.
• To show all features, select "Display All" button.
• To hide all PickPoints, select the "Hide Points" button.
• To hide all parts, select the "Hide Parts" button.

J-Bend

• Select the J-Bend button to open up the J-Bend menu.

• In this window, the cut instructions to create the header from J-bends is shown. For this to work properly, the J-Bend Library must have J-Bends made of the same material(s) and CLR(s) as the header tubes and need to have the correct lengths.

• Below "Manufacture List" a list of each J-bend needed is shown. To view which sections that J-bend will be used for, click on a number in the list to select it. The selected J-bend's details, cut instructions, and a preview of the bend will be shown to the right. The color of the text indicates which section of the J-bend it's referring to. For example, if the text is red, that information is for the section of the J-bend that is highlighted in red in the preview panel.

• Below "J-Bend Stock Needed", a list of all the J-bends used for the header is shown. The amount used, the name of the J-bend, the material of the J-bend, the CLR, angle, and short and long leg lengths are given here.

• Below "Remaining Components", any sections of the header that could not be created are shown. The name of the section, it's material, length, CLR, angle, and a description of why it could not be created are shown.

• Select the "Recalculate" button to reassess the cut instructions to attempt to get successful cut instructions after adding new J-bends to the J-Bend Library.

• Select the "J-Bend Library" to open the J-Bend Library. Once opened, J-bends can be edited or added if necessary.

• Select "Print" to print out a customized Job Cut Instructions sheet.

Collision

• Select the "Collision" button to check the header design for collisions/intersections between header tubes. If any collisions are detected, red points will be placed on each collision location.

Header Design Settings

Click the Settings button to access the header settings menu. These settings are used to control the display and general options within the current header design.

Main Display

• The main display settings control the part display and part model appears in the header interface. The background of the main display can be shown.

Background

• Select the "Normal" option for the part display background to be shown with the normal blue to white gradient. Select the "Custom Color" option to choose a custom solid color. Select the "Image" option to select an image file to display as the background.

Auto Zoom

• Check this option to automatically zoom all the way in on the current view of the 3D part display and fit it to the display frame.

Display Wall Thickness

• Check this option to have the thickness of the material shown on the part model when in shaded mode.

Display Tubes as Cut

• Check this option to have the profiles of any cuts on the tubes represented on the part model.

Model Quality

• To adjust the graphic quality of the part model, select an option from this menu. Parts can be shown in high, medium, and low quality.

PickPoint Size

• To adjust the size of all the pickpoints shown in the display frame, select an option from this menu.

Help Text

• Check the box next to "Display Cursor Help Text" to toggle the help text on and off in header design. This help text will help guide certain processes within header. The color of this text can be adjusted using the Text Color option.

Tri Star

• These options will control how the tri-star will appear in the current header design. The tri-star can be Directional (labeled with ceiling/floor, front/back, left/right), XYZ (labeled with X, Y, and Z), Lines Only, or None (not shown at all).
• The default scale value can also be defined here, which will control how large the tri-star will appear.

Color of New PickPoints

• The default color of new PickPoints can be adjusted here. Select the "Color" button and choose a color from the menu to change the PickPoint color.

Prompt for Straight Part Names

• While this option is checked, every time a new straight part is added to the header design, a window will prompt for a name to be given to this part instead of defaulting to "Straight 1" for example.

Auto Switch to Line Mode

• Select this option to have the display mode automatically switched to line mode whenever new points or parts are being added/edited in the current header design.

Auto-Save Frequency

• The time interval between the automatic saves can be adjusted using this menu.

Headers - Printing

Cover Page

• Check this option to include a cover sheet with the setup sheet for the header design.

Tube Details

• Check this option to have details about each tube (die, material, length, etc.) included on the setup sheet for the header design.

Current Tube Only

• Check this option to only have the setup sheet for the currently selected tube printed.

Labels

• Check this option to have the labels (added in the Main tab) included on the header model on the setup sheet.

Job Cut Instructions

• Check this option to have the job cut instructions included on the setup sheet.

Set Defaults

• Select the "Set Defaults" button to use these settings as the defaults for future header designs.

Restore Defaults

• Select the "Restore Defaults" button to reset all the settings to the default selections.

Multi-View

• Check the box next to "Multi-View" to split the header design part display into 4 sections that view the part from different directions. See image below for an example.