Configuring bends on your bent sheet metal part within our app is easier than it might sound. Follow along with the video guide and transcript below to learn how easy it is to go from a CAD model, to a flat pattern model in our app, to an actual bent part in your hands.
Video Guide to Configuring Bends In Our App
Taking a Bent Sheet Metal Part from CAD to the Real Thing
We strongly recommend using Fusion 360 to design your parts for manufacturing and bending with us. With a free hobbyist license and countless useful features available, it’s one of our most recommended software.
Bending in Fusion 360 is especially easy. You can create a simple flat pattern from a 3D model with bent flanges just by clicking on one of the faces and selecting the Flat Pattern feature. This will automatically open up your pattern and lay it flat so it can be cut on a laser, waterjet, or CNC router. The Flat Pattern feature also gives you a bend line and shows the die lines on the outside of that bend line.
From this flat pattern, you can create a DXF and upload it to our website for instant quoting. Note that we require a DXF from most 3D CAD software. Check out our guidelines to make sure you’re uploading the correct file type from your chosen software.
Once you get the DXFs for your parts uploaded and you select your material, you’ll see the post-processing menu in our quoting process. Click on “Bending” to begin configuring bends in the app, and you’ll see an outline of the part along with the bend line. If you have multiple bend lines, multiple bend points and options will be located on the right side of the interactive menu. You can adjust the angle to whatever your part requires as long as it falls within our bending guidelines. If you input an angle higher than what is possible, it will autocorrect down to 130°.
The next step is to select whether you want to place the bend “up” or “down.” It doesn’t matter on some parts, but you have to remember that you’re looking at the top flat face of the part in the viewer. “Up” would mean the flange is bent towards you and “down” would mean the flange is bent away from you. If the direction does matter for your part, keep that orientation in mind so you can select the right position for your bends.
Once you’ve set your bend angles and selected the correct orientation, you’ll be able to view your part as a 3D model. Take this time to make sure that everything you’ve set during the checkout process is correct and aligns with the initial design you made in CAD.
Once you have checked the part in the 3D preview and finished your selection, click “Add Bending,” then select “Add to Cart” and finish out your purchase. And you’re done configuring your bends in the SendCutSend app!
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We’ve made it as simple as possible to design and order custom bent sheet metal parts online without having to wait days for a complicated quote or slow production times. For orders with bending added, we try to ship within 6-7 business days of receiving your cut and bend-ready files. That’s just a little over a week from when you have a CAD model to when you’re holding the physical part in your hands!
If you have any questions about bending or our other services and processes, reach out to us at support@sendcutsend.com. Or if you’re ready to place your bent sheet metal part order, upload your files and get an instant quote today!
