Bellows Design Calculator

dogzbum · Sep 25, 2006

Some time ago I took bellows design calculations from somewhere and forced them into a spreadsheet. This calculates fold width and basic strip width based on the length, width, no of folds and root / crest sizes you input.
You can use it to model square or rectangular bellows.

Input areas are grey boxes.

Here's my license conditions: I believe resources including design information supporting analogue photography should be FREE. This spreadsheet is therefore FREE for distribution and is not to be re-sold in any form or manner. You may modify it to your hearts content (pm me for protection removal password) but any subsequent software product you make based on this spreadsheet may not be re-sold. Feel free to sell bellows made using the calculator coz I can make my own better than yours anyway

You will need to rename the .txt attachment to .xls for it to work properly.

Disclaimer: I am not a software nerd so don't ask me why your stupid Linux system won't download the fonts or whatever. There were no virii present when I posted this so if you've got one it ain't my problem.

Cheers big ears!
dogzbum thedogzbum@gmail.com

Nathan Smith · Sep 25, 2006

Thanks for sharing!

barryjyoung · Sep 26, 2006

dogzbum said:
Here's my license conditions: I believe resources including design information supporting analogue photography should be FREE. This spreadsheet is therefore FREE for distribution and is not to be re-sold in any form or manner. You may modify it to your hearts content (pm me for protection removal password) but any subsequent software product you make based on this spreadsheet may not be re-sold. Feel free to sell bellows made using the calculator coz I can make my own better than yours anyway

dogzbum thedogzbum@gmail.com

Awesome idea. Thank you.

barryjyoung · Sep 26, 2006

dogzbum said:
Some time ago I took bellows design calculations from somewhere and forced them into a spreadsheet. This calculates fold width and basic strip width based on the length, width, no of folds and root / crest sizes you input.
You can use it to model square or rectangular bellows.

Input areas are grey boxes.

Cheers big ears!
dogzbum thedogzbum@gmail.com

Hi:

What do the variables A, B, C, and D represent?

Thank you

dogzbum · Sep 26, 2006

barryjyoung said:
What do the variables A, B, C, and D represent?

'A' is rear width, 'B' is rear height, 'C' is front width, 'D' is front height and 'L' is max extension length. Setting 'A' = 'B' and 'C' = 'D' gives a square bellows.

It also helps to set 'L' somewhat larger than you require as the calculator does not take into account:

Connection method to front or rear standards; and
Inability to achieve max extension without losing folds.

I wanted to make the little diagram in the tool dynamic (based on input parameters) but never had time.

BTW the protection password for the tool is dogzbum. It occured to me that some of you may need to modify it for imperial measurements. Remember though that things are always bigger in millimetres.

I'll be posting another bellows tool soon. Cheers! dogzbum

barryjyoung · Sep 27, 2006

Thank you Dogzbum

namatjira · Oct 1, 2006

thanks-

Always great to see people SHARING stuff- having made a dozen or so bellows - ita always good to see how it should be done- thanks again

Lee L · Oct 1, 2006

dogzbum said:
Disclaimer: I am not a software nerd so don't ask me why your stupid Linux system won't download the fonts or whatever.

Cheers big ears!
dogzbum thedogzbum@gmail.com

Works fine with openoffice 2.0 under linux, both free, like you prefer your distribution of analog photo info.

Thanks!

Lee

Shadowtracker · Mar 31, 2011

Cool calculator - Thanks very much... let the folding begin.

Curt · Mar 31, 2011

I was able to run the program in MS Excel. I noticed in the material needed the length didn't have the unit but the width did have the mm unit. I tried inches in place of the millimeters and it seems to work. Have you checked to see if that works for you? Metric is no problem and it's what I use though.

It's nice to have and I hope to use it soon. I've been making mine in CAD which take a lot of time. I was wondering if the spreadsheet could be used to make a graphic drawing of a bellows side in 2D? That would be super.

Thanks for the work,
Curt

Shadowtracker · Apr 3, 2011

Very cool work here. I'm just playing with it right now, but have some real number to punch in soon. I'm gearing up to make two bellows, one tapered and one square, so this is going to be very useful. Thanks again, and, Well Done!

Christopher Walrath · Apr 3, 2011

Thank you. See, folks. Another arguement for a file library on APUG for cool little tools such as this.

Shadowtracker · Apr 3, 2011

Yeah, a library of things such as this would be great - would make finding them a lot easier. There is much I need to learn, and the 'search words' are not always 'correct' for what I want to find --> computer illiterate (I work with em, but I don't use them very well). But a library, that I know how to use. Even just an index would be good.

himself · Sep 17, 2012

just used this again for my nesxt bellows, so wanted to bump it back up the list.

any chance we could make it a sticky?

jon.oman · Sep 18, 2012

Thanks for the calculator, and thanks for the bump!

I needed this....

Kino · Aug 20, 2018

*Worthwhile BUMP*

涛子1314 · Nov 16, 2018

TA太棒了~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bellows Design Calculator

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