Is it possible to bend a spline?

[CNSZU]

Hi,

I have a solid shape that I want to bend slightly (for purpose of checking the bent state) and I've found that Global Shaping By Curve works very well. However, one problem is that the Control Curve (the curve that defines the final shape) is very hard to draw accurately. What I want to do is create a spline to act as the Control Curve that is a bent representation of the original spline that defines the solid shape. Is this possible in NX? Attached is an image of what I want to achieve. On the right is a bent spline I drew by eyeballing, but it's very hard to make the length and the general shape the same as the original.

If I instead used an arc instead of a spline this would be easy as I could simply sketch an arc with a tighter radius and keep the perimeter dimension the same. Also, I could use sheet metal bend operations. But I cannot find any tools to bend a spline. Essentially, what I need is a tool that increases (or decreases) the radius of the spline equally at every point along the spline.

NX10.0 Win8.1 64bit i7-3770K 16GB QuadroK2200

 

[JohnRBaker]

Have you looked at using the 'X-Form' function? Or perhaps 'Shape by Template'?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[CNSZU]

Sorry, none of those options are really what I'm after since they are essentially eyeballing techniques.

This is the method that works best so far:

1. Create an arc that closely matches the original spline.
2. Create an arc that is bent (where the radius is tighter, but with the same perimeter dimension as the first arc.
3. Global Shaping By Curve, select the body faces of the solid shape, select the first arc as Base Curve, select the second arc as Control Curve, Associated Objects select the original spline.
The resulting solid bent shape is not entirely accurate since the bent spline (associated object) has a length slightly different from the original spline.
4. Use Curve Length to set the bent spline length the same as the original spline.
5. Use the modified spline to cut off the ends of the bent solid shape.

The resulting bent shape is not perfect, but at least the basic shape and length is the same as the original shape.

NX10.0 Win8.1 64bit i7-3770K 16GB QuadroK2200