Bendtech Sheet Metal Opinions?

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Has anyone used Bendtech's sheet metal program? If so, how do you like it and what do you use it for?

I'm looking for an affordable, easy to use program that will allow a guy with zero CAD knowledge to be able to create parts and send a quality file to be cut at a laser/waterjet shop. This program looks like it would fit the bill. My uses would mainly be motorsports related (suspension, mounting plates, tabs, flanges, etc.)

http://www.bend-tech.com/products.html

 

[txvwnut]

I use the tube bender program for doing roll cages and love it. I played with a beta version of the sheet metal program but can’t really give a good review of it as I didn’t have a bender verify everything I was doing. I see they added a cut feature which was not in the beta version. The cad based design stuff in the tube program is really easy to use and grasp the concept so I’m guessing the sheet metal program will be the same.

 

[kkroger]

Not a fan of the Sheetmetal/Plate Module, I have pro and it just kinda *****... I use the tube portions a LOT but the flat portion is meh... Fusion 360 is free and the sheet metal functionality is superb!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Not a fan of the Sheetmetal/Plate Module, I have pro and it just kinda *****... I use the tube portions a LOT but the flat portion is meh... Fusion 360 is free and the sheet metal functionality is superb!

Is Fusion 360 beginner friendly? What do you use it for?

 

[kkroger]

3D Cad, I typically don't use it for CAD for CNC Plasma or anything but it is fairly intuitive but it is a LOT of program for just f ing around. But like any software you have to learn to use it, it is more intuitive in the Sheet metal module to ME than the Bendtech module....

 

[dr_clyde]

Are you looking to derive flat panels from a 3d model or just draw 2d DXF files for the laser?

I am a solidworks user for the 3D stuff. Probably out of your price range. I have never used any other 3D modeling software so I can't comment on them.

If all you want to do is draw brackets and stuff like that in 2D, Draftsight is the way to go. Its a free basically carbon copy of older AutoCAD.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

2D for laser DXF files; no need for 3D. Just looking for personal use to save time/money over having to constantly be cutting stuff by hand. It would be easier to draw a project up, email it to the cutter, pick up my order and weld it up.

 

[dr_clyde]

Draftsight all the way for 2D then. Try it, it's free, super easy to use and is made by Dassault Systems, the publisher of Solidworks, Catia, and other industry standard software.

 

[kkroger]

as the Dr mentioned Draftsight is awesome for 2D Cad, but if you need to model a 3 d item a simple box for our purposes here where you may want to Plasma or Laser or waterjet the blank then know where to brake it and what radius etc. the Fusion Sheetmetal module is pretty awesome. I've used it recently for just that purpose to model a tank then be able to cut the blank and Brake it then create the end caps and print a layout drawing in 1:1 scale to perform the bends and drill the holes. Works pretty well for it. I use 3 or 4 pieces of software every day for CNC Plasma cutting Water Jet and Laser. Primarily Draftsight, AutoCAD, a product also free called Inkscape, Fusion to a lesser degree... I pretty much NEVER us the plate module in Bendtech but I do use the tube functions pretty regularly.

 

[Whiskeymike]

This would give you a quick sense if you’d like to mess with fusion 360.

Otherwise draftsight, illustrator or Corel draw are just fine for drawing up designs.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

After watching some Fusion 360 instructional videos, it appears waayyy better than Bend Tech........and it's free. I think I will download it and start learning.

 

[CGT80]

I played with fusion over the last week and cut out a part tonight. I'm new to fusion and couldn't figure out how to put notches or slots in the drawing, with a fillet (that's what it is called in solid edge st8) or rounded corner.

After putting in the sizes for all the sides of the part I wanted, I had a 3d model to see that it would work. I made it flat and exported it and added the slots with solid edge and also added slits/perforations to bend on. It was a pain doing it this way, but I have only been playing with cad for about a year and don't fully understand it.

It looks like fusion doesn't have the ability to take hypertherm tool sets, unless I just missed it and it also seems the post file for my table is written for sheetcam, mach 3, and my candcnc electronics.

It would be great if fusion could take place of sheetcam.

I saw that tutorial video earlier and commenters said that fusion wasn't quite there yet with sheet metal. The 3d milling is great, and my brother uses it to make parts on his tormach 1100. That is how I got introduced to fusion.

 

[kkroger]

Lots of people use Fusion for Plasma I do not I just use sheetcam, you can write a post for fusion that will work with your gear, and there is probably one floating around in the fusion community...

 

[brittf]

I have used the BendTech sheetmetal module. This was prior to Fusion 360 implementing its sheetmetal capability. I suspect now I would turn to Fusion 360 before I would use BendTech if I needed another sheetmetal part.

My first significant sheetmetal part was the fabrication of modified brackets to mount a Heidts Pro G rear end in my 1967 Mustang Fastback project. I modified the rear frame rails to accommodate mini-tubs and I had to modify the crossmember mounting points. A writeup on Garage Journal can be found here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291472

My most recent use of BendTech was its tube bending capability. I used it to model up my brake and clutch hydraulic lines and my fuel lines. In fact, I first started using the sheetmetal module and gradually upgrade to the full version as I had one brake line that exceeded the 15 bend limit in the less expensive version. The output of the cut length, bend locations, bend angle and rotation angle allowed me to easily repeat each length of tube as I worked through the design and fabrication process. A writeup on Garage Journal can be found here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318231

My only difficulty with the BendTech software is visualizing the part. Sometimes when designing I make the rotation in the wrong direction and end of ruining a piece of tubing. Other than that it works great for tubing. But, as stated above, I will probably turn first to Fusion 360 for sheetmetal fabrication.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them.


Britt

 

[kkroger]

See? I can have the entire part done in CAD while trying to make the first "Flange" in Bendtech, the thought process of Bendtech Sheet/Plate seems foreign to me. Fusion is pretty simple in the sheetmetal process and it seems to of course in CAD I have to think like Yoda, a LINE from X-Y Make... a Rectangle AxB make, a Circle diameter x make... in Fusion I have to think A Square AxB Make then a Flange 90 degrees radius x by AxB make

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Yeah, the 20min Bend Tech flange video left me scratching my head; the equivalent Fusion 360 video made more sense.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Wow. Is this for home or work?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Home

 

[RVA-Jeff]

Fusion 360 isn't exactly free. Or am I missing a special link? 30-day trial (takes me longer than that to learn it well I suspect) is all I see. I'm not a student or educator...

 

[dr_clyde]

Fusion 360 isn't exactly free. Or am I missing a special link? 30-day trial (takes me longer than that to learn it well I suspect) is all I see. I'm not a student or educator...

It's free for home or business use under a certain dollar figure per year

 

[kkroger]

As are a few other Autodesk products.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

As a follow up...... In a short amount of time I've managed to draw up quite a few things in Fusion thanks to the awesome video tutorials put out by Lars Christensen. Now, I just need to figure out how to put together a quality file to deliver to a laser/waterjet shop. I'm really looking forward to the cool stuff CAD will allow me to do.