Variable Radius Fillet Options
The various options available for the dialog box are discussed in this section.
- Edit Fillet Values
The Control points box lists all the points of the part used to form the variable radius fillets .
- Selection Mode
- Two selection modes are available:
- Minimal: edges tangent to selected edges can be taken into account to some extent. The operation continues filleting beyond the selected edge whenever it cannot do otherwise.
- Tangency: tangents are taken into account so as to fillet entire edges. If you set the Tangency mode, the Trim ribbons check box becomes available: you can then trim the fillets to be created. For more information, see Creating Edge Fillets. The tangent continuous edges of the selected edge are managed to ensure a better fillet stability and robustness (more fillets are automatically rerouted if the design changes).
- Variation
- The geometry in the image below is a result of Linear
variation mode.
- Conic Parameter
The Conic parameter check box allows you to vary the section of the fillet. For a parameter comprised between or equal to:
-
0.5, the resulting curve is a parabola.
-
0 < parameter < 0.5, the resulting curve is an arc of an ellipse.
-
0.5 < parameter < 1, the resulting curve is a hyperbola.
If the conic mode is activated, the Edge(s) to keep and the Remove internal sharp edge option cannot be selected.
Conical fillets do not handle twist configurations. If a twist is detected, the fillet operation fails.
If the fillet surface curvature is lower than the support curvature, fillet surface re-limitation may fail. In such cases, you need to decrease the conic parameter.
-
- Points
- Contextual commands for creating the points you need are available in the Points box.
- To add additional points on the edge to be filleted, you can
also select planes. The app computes the intersections
between these planes and the edge to determine the useful
points.
In this example, three planes are selected. If you move these
planes later, the app computes the intersections again
and modify the fillet accordingly.
- Points can be added by selecting 3D points.
- Remove Internal Sharp Edge
When computing variable radius fillets, the app may generate unexpected sharp edges when the surfaces to be connected are continuous in tangency but not continuous in curvature. To remove all possibly generated edges, select the Remove internal sharp edges check box.
- Edges to Keep
This option specifies the edges which you do not want to fillet while running the fillet command on the edges of interest. For more information about Edge(s) to keep, see Creating Edge Fillets.
Important: If Edge(s) to keep and Remove internal sharp edges check boxes are selected simultaneously, the fillet ribbon becomes a G1 surface, with no discontinuities. - Blend Corners
For more information aboutBlend corner(s) option, see Reshaping Corners.
- Variable Radius Fillet Using a Spine
Sometimes, you need to fillet consecutive edges with no tangent continuity that you would like to treat logically as a single edge. You can do this with a spine. Compare the fillets below:
- Standard Fillet
- Fillet Using a Spine
To fillet the edge, the app uses circles contained in planes normal to the spine. It is then possible to control the shape of the fillet.
The spine can be a wireframe or a Sketcher element.
The Generative Shape Design app license is required to access this capability.
- Limiting Elements
- You can define one or more limiting elements.
- You can create the limiting elements using
context menus
available from the
Limiting element(s) box.
If you create any of these elements, the corresponding icon is displayed in front of the Limiting element(s) box. You can click this icon to edit the element.
- You can create limiting elements by clicking on the edge to be filleted. This element is displayed as a blue disk.
- You can select points as limiting elements. These points must be located on the edge to be filleted and they must be created using the On curve option available in the Point.x dialog box.