How to Draw a Bend

Select Bends in the Spec

Bends are treated as a type of elbow. First make sure that Bends are selected in the spec, as shown below.

Draw a Bend

Bends are drawn exactly like elbows, except that after you select Elbow, Bend, you get a dialog where you can enter the bend radius and the tangent length, if any, as shown below.

How to Draw a Bent Pipe System (BPS)

Overview

To make a bent pipe system, you first need to draw a combination of pipes and bends that result in the desired shape. Then you select the items that you want to combine to make the bent pipe system and finally, select Tools, Bent Pipe Conversion. But before you start, you need to consider what minimum tangent length settings you want to use, see below.

Set Minimum Tangent Lengths

To review the minimum tangent lengths, select Edit, Master Files, Bent Pipe Systems. TGMaster is displayed as shown below.

When you combine a series of pipes and bends into a bent pipe system, SpoolFab calculates the total length of pipe required for the system, including an allowance for any minimum tangent length required to allow the bend to be formed. In the table above, an entry of zero will apply the default minimum tangent length of 2D, i.e. twice the NPS in inches.

If you do not want tangent lengths to be considered at all, enter0.0001 inches. You can of course enter other values as needed. This minimum tangent length is applied at the time that the assembly of pipes and bends is converted to a bent pipe system.

Draw the BPS using Pipe and Bends

Suppose we start by drawing a piece of 6” pipe. Add bends and pipes as needed to form the desired (, entering the bend radius as shown. The dialog below is for a 5D bend with no tangent length.

A 6 inch 90 elbow with a 5D bend gives a fitting dimension of 30 inches and in this case a pipe cut length of 30 inches.

Add another length of pipe as the final piece of the BPS. A BPS can have more than one elbow.

Select the pipes and bend(s) that comprise the BPS. This can be done by pressing F11 and then clicking on the corresponding item tags. Select Tools, Bent Pipe Conversion.

Converting to a BPS makes the welds disappear and the assembly is treated as a single piece of pipe as shown below.