Bendtech pro or??????

[Nutz4sand]

Looking for the current best price and place to get Bendtech Pro or is there a better one for a similiar cost?

Whats a fair to good price for this? Thanx Bill 

Any others some would recommend? How much and where to buy?

[Stomper]

http://www.chopworx.com/catalog/tube-bending-software-c-2.html

Got my BT pro here $275. It's the only stuff I used so I can't help you much. It was emailed to me the same day I purchased it. There was also a disc sent to me in the mail. Chris the guy that owns bend tech is a good guy and stands behind his product. If you ever have a problem with it, call him and he will do everything to help out.

Not much, but I hope it helps

[fabr]

Just look for the best price and buy the BT Pro. You won't be disappointed.

[Nutz4sand]

Thanx Guys. I will be looking around a bit more for price but it does seem to be $275.00 for it most anywhere.

I wonder if I cannot find someones used one they do not wish to have any longer for a deal or is that software not allowed to be resold?

Guess I could post a wanted add and keep fingers crossed.

[fabr]

Post up what you need to bend with details and maybe someone here will post up the bending info for ya!

[Nutz4sand]

The offers appreciated Fabr but what I was thinking/wondering is if these programs really do help to setup a frame. I have different plans but none of them are quite what I wish and after looking at all I could I am taking my Desertkart Panther plans and redoing about 3/4 of the way its done.

I can bend simple hoops and have done simple repairs to damaged buggy frames but I had somthing to mimic there or it was real simple to just measure and make but this will be major reconstructive surgery and when I am done you will likely not guess it ever had a thing to do with the Panther base.

Other than the basic rear alignment and the front rake angle I will be using very little else off the Panther plans. Those might change a lil too..... Still not set in what I want for my front rake.

Thinking of a VERY basic cobble buggy with a front end I can jack around at will to see what I like then adjust it right there on the spot till I find my happy place. Then make it solid on a real frame.   

I like things that are different and wish this to be VERY unique. I think it will meet that requirement.   
 

[Rick S.]

Could someone explain how these programs work?
Is it just a program for those who don't know how to calculate the bends themselves?
Plug in the bend radius, and angle, then it tells you how much tube it takes to do the bend?

[Engineer]

I have a little program like that for sheet metal called BA (Bend Allowance), that runs in a DOS shell, from waaaaaaayyyyyy back.

If you use a cad package, I don't understand why you need it.

Enlighten please.

What does it do for you?

[Punkur67]

Bending programs are nice. You can layout a complete tube and all you need to do is mark where each bend goes and stuff it in you bender. The program does all the math for you. I used the free JD2 program on my car and loved it. I bent my upper and lower rails one shot one kill. My upper rail was one full stick that had 4 bends to make a 180 turn. The programs also let you know if a bend is possible in the bender if its too close from one bend to another. Just suck having a plan and changing it cause something wont work in the bender. This way you know

[Admin]

Bending programs are nice. You can layout a complete tube and all you need to do is mark where each bend goes and stuff it in you bender. The program does all the math for you. I used the free JD2 program on my car and loved it. I bent my upper and lower rails one shot one kill. My upper rail was one full stick that had 4 bends to make a 180 turn. The programs also let you know if a bend is possible in the bender if its too close from one bend to another. Just suck having a plan and changing it cause something wont work in the bender. This way you know

thats better than bendtech ez right there, it will let you have one bend at the end of the first, you cant bend tube in a jd2, or pro tools that way either..I may have to download that...

[Punkur67]

For free you cant beat the price!

[Rick S.]

I just do the math myself. I too mark all the tangents with paint marker before I start.
Are these programs just calculating the actual length of the centerline radius?
I've found that it almost always takes less than that figure to do a bend.
I use 97 or 98 percent of the actual centerline radius length.
This will get you closer, but there isn't a program out there that will be 100 percent.
It always varies depending on the stock and how you tighten the tube in the bender.
I sometimes do a test bend and then tweak my math accordingly.

[Admin]

I just do the math myself. I too mark all the tangents with paint marker before I start.
Are these programs just calculating the actual length of the centerline radius?
I've found that it almost always takes less than that figure to do a bend.
I use 97 or 98 percent of the actual centerline radius length.
This will get you closer, but there isn't a program out there that will be 100 percent.
It always varies depending on the stock and how you tighten the tube in the bender.
I sometimes do a test bend and then tweak my math accordingly.

they are pretty acurate, and you can throw multiple bends in without the headaches...

[fabr]

They're damned accurate if you calibrate the software with the actual achieved radius of a test bend. Laying out bends with a paint pen? So do I.I make a mark with one and then scribe in a cery accurate measurement. My main frame rails have 7 bends in them at varying degrees of rotation from another from one continous piece.Both matched up end to end within 1/16th". Bend-tech is worth every penny. Are there other ways? SURE!! I've used them.BT is by far easier and IMO much more accurate.

[Rick S.]

If you know what you're doing, and adjust your math with a test bend, BT is not any more accurate.
Just more expensive.
Thats a fact.
Not just an opinion.