You are making a 20 inch offset with two 30° bends. The distance between bends is ___________ inches.

To determine the distance between two bends when making a 20-inch offset with two 30° bends, one must consider the geometry of the bends and how they affect the overall measurement of the offset.

When each bend is 30°, it essentially gives a part of a straight-line movement along the desired axis. An offset is created when the bends angle away from the original straight line, resulting in a diagonal path. Therefore, to calculate the distance between the two bends, you essentially need to add the run of the bends (the distance from the start of the first bend to the end of the second bend) while considering that each bend takes up additional space in the horizontal plane.

For a 30° bend, there are specific formulas that relate the offset to the distance along the bend. The total distance between bends is generally calculated by the formula:

Distance between bends = Offset length / sin(angle / 2),

where the angle is the sum of the angles of the bends. In this case, with two 30° bends, the total internal angle is 60°. Thus:

Distance = 20 / sin(30°) = 20 / 0.5 = 40 inches.

This is why the distance between the two bends for