Reference Section > Shape Library > Other Shapes

The U shape is a U-shaped part: two parallel legs of the same thickness joined at one end by a semicircular bend. The outside of the bend is a semicircle across the full width of the part and the inside is a semicircle across the gap between the legs, so the bend has the same thickness as the legs. Use it for U brackets, clevis plates and hangers made from bent strip. It is one closed profile.

It appears in the shapes library under Other Shapes.

Insert point and direction

The insert point (Base X, Base Y) is the outer corner at the open end of the left leg, the origin (X = 0, Y = 0) of the shape as built. With Rotation 0 the open ends of the legs are at the bottom and the bend is at the top, so the shape is built upward and to the right of the insert point. Set Rotation to 180 for a U with the bend at the bottom.

The left leg runs from X = 0 to X = Thickness, the gap from Thickness to Thickness + Gap, and the right leg from Thickness + Gap to 2 x Thickness + Gap. Both legs run from Y = 0 up to Y = Leg Height, where the bend starts. Overall the shape is 2 x Thickness + Gap wide and Leg Height + Thickness + (Gap / 2) high.

The profile is built clockwise: from the insert point up the outside of the left leg, over the outside of the bend, down the outside of the right leg, across its open end, up the inside of the right leg, over the inside of the bend, down the inside of the left leg and across its open end back to the insert point.

Leg Height is dimensioned along the outside of the left leg, Thickness across the open end of the right leg and Gap between the two legs at the open end. These dimensions are always measured to the sharp corners, so they read the same whether or not Fillet R is set. When Fillet R is greater than 0 a radius dimension is shown on the outer corner of the right leg.

Properties

Property	Description	Default
Leg Height	Length of the straight part of each leg, from the open ends to where the bend starts (mm or inch). The bend is not included; it adds Thickness + (Gap / 2) to the overall height.	75 mm (3 in)
Thickness	Width of each leg, which is also the thickness of the bend (mm or inch).	25 mm (1 in)
Gap	Distance between the inside edges of the two legs, which is also the diameter of the inside of the bend (mm or inch). The outside of the bend has diameter 2 x Thickness + Gap.	50 mm (2 in)
Fillet R	Radius applied to the four corners at the open ends of the legs: the outer and inner corner of each leg end (mm or inch). 0 leaves the corners sharp. The bend is not affected.	0 (sharp corners)

Limits

Fillet R is the only value the shape checks. When one of these is true the red Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters bar is shown on the property page and the shape is not built:

•Fillet R is negative.

•Fillet R is more than half the Thickness, because the two fillets on each leg end must fit across that end.

•Fillet R is more than Leg Height, because the fillet at each leg-end corner takes Fillet R along the outside or inside edge of its leg, and those edges are Leg Height long.

Leg Height, Thickness and Gap are not checked, so enter values greater than 0. A Gap of 0 leaves the inside of the bend with no size, and a negative Gap moves the inner edge of the right leg past the left leg, so the profile crosses itself and is not a valid part.

Shapes saved before Fillet R was added open with Fillet R set to 0 and build exactly as before.

Every 2D shape also has the Transform properties (Base X, Base Y, Rotation, Scale, Mirroring X) and the Polar Array properties, listed after the shape's own properties.