FabLayout

Kick bend calculator

Enter the kick height and the bend angle. You get the travel, where to mark the kick back from the 90° and the shrink.

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Enter your measurements

Kick

Pinch or scroll to zoom, drag to move. Double-tap to fit.

Export from the Truemark app

The PDF cut sheet with this drawing and your marks is made in Truemark. It works offline on site and keeps your jobs.

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30°30°TravelTravel88″″Kick heightKick height44″″ShrinkShrink11111616″″
Scale drawing

Travel

8in

Exact geometry

Mark from the bend
8 in
Shrink
1 1/16 in

How to lay it out

  1. Measure the kick height

    Measure how far the conduit has to move away from the wall or surface after the 90°, centre to centre.

  2. Mark back from the 90°

    Measure the mark-from-the-bend distance back from the 90° along the pipe and wrap the mark.

  3. Bend the kick

    Line the arrow up with the mark and bend to the kick angle, in the plane that moves the stub away from the surface.

  4. Allow for the shrink

    The run is shorter by the shrink. Allow for it before you cut.

Good to know

  • FabLayout runs the same code as Truemark; the result is exact geometry.
  • Source: Plane trigonometry; same calculation as the Truemark app

Method and formula

A kick is a single bend, usually right after a 90°, that moves the conduit off a wall or out of line. It is half an offset: one slanted piece instead of two.

  • Travel = kick height ÷ sin θ, the length of the slanted piece.
  • Mark from the bend = travel. The mark sits where the slanted piece starts.
  • Shrink = kick height × tan(θ ÷ 2).

Because a kick is one bend of an offset, the offset multiplier for the angle gives the travel: 2.0 for 30° on the Greenlee chart.

Worked example

The page defaults: a 4″ kick at 30°. The travel is 4 ÷ sin 30° = 8″, so the mark goes 8″ back from the 90°. The shrink is 4 × tan 15° = 1.0718″.

Questions

What is the difference between a kick and an offset?

An offset has two bends and returns the run to a parallel line. A kick has one bend and leaves the run at an angle, usually right after a 90°.

Which angle should I use for a kick?

A shallow angle needs more room but keeps wire pulling easy. 30° is common: the travel is twice the kick height.

Does a kick have shrink?

Yes. The slanted piece covers less distance along the run than its length, so the run is shorter by the shrink shown.

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