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Bend Modifier

Bends The current selection up to 360 degrees about a single axis. The Bend modifier produces a uniform bend in an objects geometry. You can control the angle and direction of the bend on any of three axes. You can also limit the bend to a section of the geometry.

Reference

GENERATE/BEND2.gif  

Bend Modifier Parameters

Angle: Sets the angle to bend from the vertical plane (1-360).

Direction: Sets the direction of the bend relative to the horizontal plane (1-360).

Bend Axis Area

X/Y/Z: Select one of these to specify the axis that will be bent. Note that this axis is local to the Bend gizmo and not related to the selected entity.

Limits Area

Limit Effect: Check this to apply limit constraints to the bend effect.

Upper Limit: Sets the upper boundry in world units from the bend center point beyond which the bend no longer affects geometry.

Lower Limit: Sets the lower boundry in world units from the bend center point beyond which the bend no longer affects geometry.

How To

To bend an object:

  1. Select and click Bend on the Modifiers rollout.
  2. On the Parameters rollout, set the axis of the bend to X, Y, or Z. This is the axis of the Bend gizmo, not the axis of the selected object. Default=Z.
  3. You can switch between axes at any time, but only one axis setting is carried with the modifier.
  4. Set the angle of the bend along the chosen axis.

    5. The object bends to this angle beginning at the lower limit, by default the location of the modifiers center.

  5. Set the direction of the bend.

    6. The object swivels around the axis.

    You can reverse angle and direction by changing a positive value to a negative value.

To limit the bend:

  1. Check Limit Effect in the Limits area. Default=unchecked.
  2. Set values for the upper and lower limits. These are distances in current units above and below the modifiers center, which is at zero on the gizmos Z axis. The upper limit can be zero or positive, the lower limit zero or negative. If the limits are equal, the result is the same as unchecking Limit Effect. Defaults=0.

    3. The bend is applied between these limits. The surrounding geometry, while unaffected by the bend itself, is rotated to keep the object intact. This is analogous to bending a pipe the unbent sections rotate but remain straight.

  3. At sub-object level, you can select and move the modifier's center.

    4. The limit settings remain on either side of the center as you move it. This lets you relocate the bend area to another part of the object.