Plate
Sheet Metal/Plate
Contents
Create
Point
Pick anywhere on the screen to place a point. The point will be placed at the exact location of your cursor and will not reference any other entities while being placed.
Provide X and Y values and select a reference point. X is the horizontal distance and Y is the vertical distance. A negative (-) X value will place the point to the left of the reference point. A negative (-) Y value will place the point below the reference point.
Select the Angle option under the point tab. Enter the distance from the reference point in the Distance field. Enter an angle in the Angle field. If the Angle field is set to 0°, the new point will be created directly to the right of the reference point. To place the new point, click on a point to use as a reference point.
Enter X and Y coordinates into the X and Y fields and click submit to place the point. The reference point will always be (0,0).
Pick a line and a line that intersects it to place a point at the intersection.
Click an entity to place an end point. The point will be placed at the end that you click closest to.
Click on an entity to create a center point.
Click on an entity to create a point at the mid-point.
Line
Click on a point; it will turn into a blue circle. Now click on a second point to create a line between the two points. Enable Continuous mode by clicking the Continuous checkbox. This will automatically start new lines with the first point set as the end of the last line. To stop drawing lines while in Continuous mode click Cancel in the Activity section.
To create a horizontal line, set the length by entering a value in the Line Length field. Place the line by clicking a point. The mid-point of the line will be centered on the point you select.
To create a vertical line set the length by entering a value in the Line Length field. Place the line by clicking a point. The mid-point of the line will be centered on the point you select.
The length of the horizontal and vertical lines can be set using the Line Length field. Click on a point to place the lines. Both lines will be placed with their mid-points directly over the point you select.
Selecting a point will cause it to turn into a blue circle. A blue rectangle will be drawn between the selected point and the nearest point to the cursor. Move the cursor near the intended second point and make sure the blue rectangle is correct. Click to create the rectangle.
When creating a parallel line you can either enter the distance between the parallel line and the reference line or use the Through Point feature. If a distance is entered and the Through Point checkbox is not selected, click a line to set it as the reference line. After picking the reference line, select which side the parallel line will be placed on by clicking on that side of the reference line. For example, to put a parallel line above a horizontal reference line, click just above the reference line. If the Through Point checkbox is selected you must first select a reference line, followed by a point that the parallel line will pass through.
To set the length of the perpendicular line use the Line Length field .Click a line to set it as the reference line. The side you click on will determine the direction of the line. Click on any point to place the perpendicular line there.
Enter the desired length in the Line Length field and the desired angle in the Angle field. Click on a point to place the Line there.
Enter the length of the line in the Line Length field and the relative angle in the Angle field. Click on a line to use as a reference line and click on a point to use as a starting point for the new line. The angle of the line will be the sum of the angle of the reference line and the value entered in the Angle field.
Select an arc by clicking near the side of the arc that the line will be drawn to. Click on a point to create the line.
Select an arc by clicking near the side that the line will be drawn to. Select a side of a second arc to create a tangent line.
Select which type of notch you would like to add by clicking either Chamfer, Corner, or Edge. If adding a Chamfer or Corner, input the desired depth into the Depth field. To add the notch, click on a line and another line that you want the notch to connect to. On the second line, where you click determines which direction the notch faces. Click on the end closest to the direction you want it to face. To add an Edge, you need to input both the Depth and Width. This will create a rectangle with the depth and width that you selected which can be added to the edge of a line. The edge will be added to the closest line and will be placed on the nearest end. An edge can be added to either side of the end of a line by clicking on that side. Check the Auto-Trim box to automatically cut off any part of a line that extends past a notch.
Arc
Input the desired radius of the fillet arc into the Radius field. Click on the first line, which will turn blue. A blue arc will come off the first line and connect with whatever line is nearest to the cursor. Change the direction of the fillet by moving the cursor to the other side of the first line. Click to place the fillet. If Auto-Trim is checked, any part of either line that extends past the fillet will be cut off.
Input the radius, start angle, and end angle of the arc into their respective fields. Click on a point to place the arc with its center directly over that point. Check the Full Circle checkbox to automatically set the start angle at 0 and the end angle at 360, creating a full circle.
Set the start and end angle of the arc using the Start Angle and End Angle fields. Click on three lines, in any order, to create an arc that uses those three lines as tangent lines.
Pick three points that lie within the desired arc. The first and third points will be end-points. The second point will be on the arc. If the first and third points are the same point, a circle will be drawn between the first and second point.
Click on the point that lies in the center of the intended arc. Click on another point to create the first end point. A blue arc will be drawn from the first end point to the point on the arc closest to the cursor. Move the cursor until the second end point is in the desired location and click to place the arc.
Click on a point to set it as the center point. A blue circle will be drawn with a radius equal to the distance to the point nearest to the cursor. Move the cursor to the desired point and click to place the circle.
Hole
Text
Dimension
Create
Click the Horizontal button and click two points in the display window. A Dimension, along with dimension and extension lines, will appear and move with the cursor. Move the Dimension to the desired location using the cursor and click to place it.
Click the Vertical button and click two points in the display window. A Dimension, along with dimension and extension lines, will appear and move with the cursor. Move the Dimension to the desired location using the cursor and click to place it.
Click the Linear button and click two points in the display window. A Dimension, along with dimension and extension lines, will appear and move with the cursor. Move the Dimension to the desired location using the cursor and click to place it.
Click the Hole button and click on a hole. The radius of the hole, along with an abbreviated version of the name of its shape, will be drawn and bound to the cursor. Move the cursor until the dimension is in the desired location and click to place it.
Click on the Diameter button. Click on a circle in the display window. A dimension and dimension line will appear in the circle and be bound to the cursor. If the cursor is moved out of the circle an extension line will be drawn in between the circle and the dimension. Move the cursor to reposition the dimension and click to place it.
Click the Radius button and click an arc. The radius of the arc, along with a dimension, will be drawn and bound to the cursor. Move the cursor until the dimension is in the desired location and click to place it.
Click the Angle button. Click the outside point of the first line. See the picture to the right for an example of outside and inside points. Your points can be endpoints of a line or individual points. Click the inside point of the first line. Now click the outside and inside points of the second line. The dimension, as well as a dimension arc and two extension lines, will be bound to the cursor. Move the cursor until the dimension is in the desired location and click to place it. To measure the reverse of the angle, click the Flip Angle checkbox.
Edit
Click on the Move button and click on a dimension. The dimension will now move with the mouse and can be repositioned. Click to place the dimension.
Click on the Delete button and click on a dimension to delete it.
Click on Edit Value and click on a dimension. A window will pop up and ask for a new display value for the dimension. Enter a value and click on the OK button.
Click on the Properties button and click on a dimension. Make any necessary changes to the settings by clicking on a field in the Value column. Standoff, Offset, Text Size, Arrow Width, and Arrow Height can all be changed by typing a new value to replace the existing value. Arrow Type, Distance Tolerance, and Angle Tolerance can be changed by using the drop down menus that appear when their value boxes are clicked. Dim Color, Ext Color, and Text Color can be changed by clicking on their value boxes and selecting the desired color in the color window that appears. To update the dimension with the new settings click on the Apply button.
Click on the Properties button and click on a dimension. Make all necessary changes to the dimensions settings. Click Apply to apply the settings to the dimension.
Make any necessary changes to the settings and click on the Apply All button. All dimensions will be updated with these settings.
- Show Number of Holes: Click on this checkbox to display the number of similar holes when creating hole dimensions.
- Display Feet: Click on this checkbox to display feet and inches rather than exclusively inches.
Settings
- Standoff
- Offset
- Text Size
- Arrow Width
- Arrow Height
- Arrow Type
- Distance Tolerance
- Angle Tolerance
- Dim Color
- Ext Color
- Text Color
Misc
Edit
Part
Details
Tools
Description
Using the tools tab, you can change the line type and color of features in both the Design View and the Flat Layout. There are a few other features in the Tools tab as well.
How-To
- Refresh: Refreshes the Flat Layout. If the Flat Layout is refreshed, any changes that you have made to it using the Tools tab will be lost.
- Toggle: Switches between the Design View and the Flat Layout.
- Export: Exports the Flat Layout as a .DXF file.
- Line Type: Select a line type in the Tool Bar and click the Line Type button in the Tools tab. Select a line to change its type. For information on selection, see the Selection and Features to Include pages.
- Color: Select a color in the Tool Bar. Click the Color button in the Tools tab and use a Selection feature of your choosing. If desired, you may also use the Features to Include function.
- Clean Up: Deletes any duplicate features or zero-length features.
- Flange Intersection: Click on the Flange Intersection button and click on two intersecting flanges.
Settings
Description
The Settings tab contains various options that can be used to customize interface.
Settings
- Cursor: Select either Default, Small, Small Diagonal, or Large to change the look of the cursor. Select each one and move the cursor over the display window to see what it looks like.
- Display Color: Click the Background button to change the background color of the display window using the Color menu.
- Background Image: To display an image in the background of the display window, click the Choose button and find a picture by using the windows file browser.
- Display Background Image: Toggles the display of a background image in the display window.
- Create Points at Intersections: Toggles the automatic creation of points at intersections between entities.
- Allow Selection of End Points: If this box is checked, end points of lines and arcs can be used as points for the placement of other features.
- Exclude External Holes: If this box is checked, holes that are not on a flange will be ignored.
- Dim Display for Free Select: Toggles the dimming of the display window when Free Select mode is active.
- Automatically Switch to Design View: Toggles the automatic switching to the Design View that occurs whenever the Design View is necessary for a function.
Toolbar
The Tool Bar is the row of buttons just below the Main Menu Bar.
Click 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.
Click the New Assembly icon 
to open a new assembly design. See the Assembly page for further information on creating an assembly.
Click the New Plate icon 
to open a new plate design. See the Plate page for further information on designing a plate.
Click the New Header icon 
to open a new header design. See the Header Design page for further information.
Click the Open icon 
to open a part, assembly, plate, or header file.
Click 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.
Click the Print icon 
to print out an image of the current view of the plate design in the display.
Click the Print Preview icon 
to view a preview of the plate design image print out.
Click the Solidworks icon 
to import a part file from Solidworks that has been sent to Bend-Tech.
Click the Display menu 
to alternate between design, defined, 3D wireframe, 3D shaded, and flat layout mode. See the design mode page for information on each of these options.
Click the Refresh icon 
to refresh the part display.
Click the Home button 
to reset the 3D part display to its original default view.
Click 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.
Color: Click the color icon to change the color of future point and line features in the plate design display.
Line Type: Any new lines that are placed will be the type of line that is selected in the Line Type drop down menu. Click the small picture of a line to the right of the phrase "Line Type" to open the Line Type drop down menu.
Layer: Use the Layer drop down menu to select a layer. You can only work on the currently selected layer.
Flange: To switch the active flange, use the Flange drop down menu.
