You can create a cylindrical bent plate by selecting two steel parts or two part faces. Cylindrical bent plate has a radius that you can modify. The bent plate properties, such as the ID, thickness, class, and material of the plate, are determined by the first part you select.

1. On the Steel tab, click Plate > Create cylindrical bent plate .
2. On the bent plate toolbar, select whether you want to create the bent plate by selecting parts or by selecting part faces.

   Additionally, you can enter the radius of the cylindrical bent plate. If no radius is entered, Tekla Structures creates the bent plate using the default radius.

   • If you selected By parts:

     1. Select the first part.

        

     2. Select the second part.

        

        Tekla Structures creates the cylindrical bent plate.

        

   • If you selected By faces:

     1. Select the first part face.

        

     2. Select the second part face.

        

        Tekla Structures creates the cylindrical bent plate.

        

You can create a conical bent plate by selecting two steel parts or two part faces. Conical bent plate has two radiuses that you can modify. The bent plate properties, such as the ID, thickness, class, and material of the plate, are determined by the first part you select.

1. On the Steel tab, click Plate > Create conical bent plate .
2. On the bent plate toolbar, select whether you want to create the bent plate by selecting parts or by selecting part faces.

   You can enter two radiuses for the conical bent plate. If no radiuses are entered, Tekla Structures creates the bent plate using the default radiuses.

   • If you selected By parts:

     1. Select the first part.

        

     2. Select the second part.

        

     3. Tekla Structures creates the conical bent plate.

        

   • If you selected By faces:

     1. Select the first part face.

        

     2. Select the second part face.

        

     3. Tekla Structures creates the conical bent plate.

        

When you create a cylindrical bent plate, you can enter a radius for the plate. For a conical bent plate you can enter two radiuses. If you do not enter any radius, Tekla Structures uses a default bend radius when creating bent plates. You can later change the bend radius to suit your needs.

1. Ensure that Direct modification is switched on.
2. Select the bent plate.

   A blue line handle appears in the middle of the curved section.

   

3. Select the line handle.

   Depending on the type of the bent plate, one (for cylindrical bent plate) or two (for conical bent plate) blue dimension arrows appear.

   • For cylindrical bent plate:

     

   • For conical bent plate:

     

4. To modify the radius, do one the following:

   • Drag the arrow or arrows forward or backward along the magenta line.

     The dimension "r =" changes accordingly. When you release the arrow, the radius also changes in the model.

     

   • On the contextual toolbar, enter the radius or the radiuses.

   • Alternatively, you can select the arrow and type a dimension. When you start typing, Tekla Structures displays the Enter a Numeric Location dialog box. Click OK to confirm the dimension.

When you create a bent plate, Tekla Structures adds a curved section between the parts you select. You can modify the curved section by choosing one of the predefined options or by modifying the shape manually. You can also modify the flat sections, which are the original parts the bent plate was made of.

1. Ensure that Direct modification is switched on.
2. Select the bent plate.

   A blue line handle appears in the middle of the curved section.

3. Select the line handle.

   A contextual toolbar appears.

4. On the contextual toolbar, select one of the predefined shape options:

   Option	Description	Example
   Tapered bend	A gradual decrease in the width between the parts. This is the default shape.
   Narrow bend	Constant width between the parts. The width is determined by the narrowest part.
   Wide bend	Constant width between the parts. The width is determined by the widest part.

5. To modify the curved section manually:
   1. Select the blue line handle.

      You can modify the side boundaries or the lateral boundaries of the bends both in the cylindrical and in the conical bent plate. Tekla Structures displays the boundary handles in blue:

      

   2. Drag the handles to change the shape of the curved section.

      For example:

      

      

6. To modify the flat sections:
   1. Select the bent plate.

      Tekla Structures displays a green selection handle in the middle of each flat section:

      

   2. Click the selection handle of the section you want to modify.

      The direct modification handles of the selected section become visible:

      

   3. Use the direct modification handles to change the shape of the flat section.
7. To modify the angle of the bent plate:
   1. Click the green selection handle in the middle of the flat section whose angle you want to modify.
   2. Select the line handle.

      A contextual toolbar appears.

   3. On the contextual toolbar, click Enable angle manipulator.

      The angle manipulator wheel appears in the model.

      

   4. Modify the angle using the wheel.

      If you want to modify the angle of another flat section, click the other green selection handle.

8. To change the main section of the bent plate:
   1. Click the green selection handle of the section that you want to set as the main section.

      A contextual toolbar appears.

   2. On the contextual toolbar, click Set main section.

      The direct modification handles become active in the new main section. The main section and the coordinate system of the bent plate change accordingly, changing the bent plate orientation in an unfolded drawing.

You can return bent plates into individual objects, and then edit and use them as any other model object. If the bent plate consists of several curved sections that are all joined to the same part, you can either remove each curved section separately or explode the entire bent plate all at once.

1. If the property pane is not open, double-click the bent plate to open the Bent plate properties.
2. Change the properties as needed.
3. Click Modify.