Conduit Bending Layout Guide — Choose Offset, Saddle, Rolling or Segmented 90°

Pick the bend type for the job — not the math first

This guide is scoped down on purpose. The Conduit Bending Layout Generator already explains where the multipliers come from and how to read the on-screen marks. Use those sections for the trade tables and mark-transfer workflow. Use this page to choose the right bend family before you start entering numbers.

When to use a flat offset

Use a flat (parallel) offset when the conduit needs to shift in one plane only — around a beam, duct, or strut that sits straight ahead in the run. Both bends stay in the same rotational plane; you sight down the pipe between bends to keep them coplanar.

• Typical: rising over a crossing conduit, kicking out around a column face, dropping into a panel from a rack.
• Angle choice: 30° is the shop default for most offsets; 22.5° for shallow kicks; 45°/60° when space is short and you accept more shrinkage.
• If the obstruction also forces a side shift, stop — that is a rolling offset job (see the offset vs rolling offset decision).

When to use a 3-point saddle

Use a saddle when the run must clear an obstruction and return to the original centerline — crossing a pipe, strut, or conduit that blocks the path but you still want the far end back on the same line.

• Center bend is the deep kick; the two side bends are half-angle and opposite rotation.
• Measure the obstruction depth carefully — that is the only number the layout needs besides the center mark location.
• Saddle math is already in the tool; do not re-derive multipliers on the job.

When to use a rolling offset

Use a rolling offset when the destination is offset on two axes at once — up and over, or down and out. The pipe rotates (rolls) so the bend plane follows the diagonal of that rectangle.

• Enter vertical and horizontal separately; the tool builds true offset and roll angle.
• Common mistake: using rolling math for a single-axis kick. If one of the two shifts is zero, a flat offset is correct and simpler.
• Wrong reference for the roll angle is a top field failure — covered in layout troubleshooting.

When to use a segmented 90°

Use a segmented (large-radius / multi-shot) 90° when a factory elbow will not fit, the inspector wants a gentle bend radius, or you are matching a large conduit radius that a hand bender cannot pull in one shot.

• More segments = smoother arc and more marks; fewer segments = faster but flatter facets.
• Same lobster-back idea as sheet-metal gores — marks along the pipe instead of a cut template.
• Uneven mark spacing is the usual failure mode; see troubleshooting.

Quick decision table

• One-plane shift, stay parallel: flat offset
• Clear and return to same line: 3-point saddle
• Shift on two axes: rolling offset
• Gentle large-radius 90°: segmented 90°
• Single stub-up / box offset / deduct math: use the Conduit Bending Calculator, not this layout tool