A bend table is a table of bend deductions arranged in rows and columns.
Each row in a bend table specifies a bend angle. Each column specifies a bend radius. When unfolding, if a bend radius or angle does not correspond to a specific entry, a process interpolates between adjacent values in the table.
You can generate flat patterns by unfolding sheet metal features using a uniformly applied linear KFactor, a bend table, or custom unfolding equation. Because a bend table can take into account specific (nonlinear) equipment behavior, the piece parts produced from models using bend tables are closer in tolerance to the folded model.
When you select Bend Table as the unfolding method in the Sheet Metal Styles dialog box, the flat pattern analyzer uses a bend table to create the flat pattern. A bend table contains bend deductions for the specified material thickness at specific bend radii and bend angles. If a specific bend angle or bend radius is not in the table, the flat pattern analyzer interpolates between adjacent cells to determine a value.
A bend table for a particular part needs rows for only the angles used within the part. If a part uses only a single bend radius, a bend table requires only a single column. If a part has only 90 degree bends of a single bend radius, there is no benefit in using a bend table versus adjusting the uniformly applied KFactor value. A useful bend table for a particular shop floor machine has a full-range of angles and bend radii. Each cell in such a table requires measured sample pieces to ensure the highest accuracy.
A sample bend table is available in a spreadsheet. You can customize the sample spreadsheet by copying and editing tables.
A bend table file can contain multiple bend tables as long as the tables are for different materials or thicknesses. Typically, a bend table file contains a bend table for each sheet thickness that is used. Since aluminum deforms differently than steel, create a separate bend table file for each material type.
You can access the integrated editor to create and edit bend tables in either text files or spreadsheets. You can also edit bend tables with a text editor or spreadsheet. You can import text files and paste in ranges of cells.
Sample Imperial and metric bend tables are provided as spreadsheet files. The bend deduction values in the sample bend table spreadsheets are based on formulae. However, the true value of a bend table is the ability to provide measured results from your machinery and tooling, which is not always uniform across all angles and radii. You can use the supplied samples as a starting point for the creation of tables that reflect your particular requirements.
Bend tables are saved as an ASCII text file (*.txt).