Manipulate fillet surface cross section and continuity
 
 
 

Use the controls in the Surface Fillet option window to control the shape (cross section) of a fillet surface.

Choose Surfaces > Multi-Surface Fillet > Surface Fillet to show the fillet control window.

Use a circular cross-section with lead in

  1. Set the Section Type to Lead and turn off Variable Fillets.
  2. Set the Tangent Offset.

    The Tangent Offset is the distance between the intersection line of the two sets of surfaces and the contact lines (the lines along which the new fillet surface touches the surfaces on either side).

  3. Set the Specify option to the lead-in variable you wish to use, either Peak radius or Knee ratio.

    Since the two numbers are two different ways of measuring the lead distance, it does not matter which way you prefer to specify it.

    The Peak Radius is the minimum radius that the fillet is allowed to have at the top.

    The Knee Ratio is the ratio between the peak radius and the tangent offset distance. Knee ratio = peak radius divided by tangent offset.

Use a lead-in cross-section with bias

  1. Set the Section Type to Bias and turn off Variable Fillets.
  2. Set the Tangent Offset.

    The Tangent Offset is the distance between the intersection line of the two sets of surfaces and the contact lines (the lines along which the new fillet surface touches the surfaces on either side).

  3. Set the Specify option to the lead distance variable you wish to use, either Peak radius or Knee ratio.

    Since the two numbers are two different ways of measuring the lead distance, it does not matter which way you prefer to specify it.

    The Peak Radius is the minimum radius that the fillet is allowed to have at the top.

    The Knee Ratio is the ratio between the peak radius and the tangent offset distance. Knee ratio = peak radius divided by tangent offset.

  4. Use the Bias Factor option to control which side the peak is closer to. 0 is centered. Negative numbers bias toward the first side. Positive numbers bias toward the second side.

Use a circular cross-section

  1. Set the Section Type to Circular and turn off Variable Fillets.
  2. Set the Radius.

Use curvature continuity

  1. Set the Section Type to G2 Curvature and turn off Variable Fillets.
  2. Set the Form Factor. The Form Factor affects the CV distribution along the cross-section of the fillet (V direction).
  3. Set the Specify option to the variable you wish to use, either Center radius or Tangent offset.

    The Center Radius is the radius at the arclength center of the fillet.

    The Tangent Offset is the distance between the intersection line of the two sets of surfaces and the contact lines (the lines along which the new fillet surface touches the surfaces on either side).

  4. Use the Curvature pop-up menu to choose whether to enforce curvature continuity on both sides or only one side (the other side will be tangent).
See Also