Creating a Fillet Surface

The Create Fillet Surface command creates a surface between two selected surfaces, leaving the original surfaces unmodified.

This command is useful for sheet metal design (for example, for car bodies) to provide a smooth transition between two adjacent surfaces–perhaps for aesthetic quality or because of a manufacturing requirement.

To create a fillet surface at the intersection of two selected NURBS surfaces:

1.	Select two NURBS surfaces. The position of the fillet surface depends on the normal of the NURBS surfaces; select Show Normal in the Object Info palette to display the surface normals (see Displaying Surface Normals).

2.	Select Model > 3D Power Pack > Create Fillet Surface.

The Fillet Surface Preferences dialog box opens. Enter the desired Fillet Radius, and then select the trim and cross section type for the fillet.

The following trim type examples shown use a circular cross section type, and the cross section examples use an edge tangency trim type.

 

Parameter	Description
Edge Tangency	Creates a blend between the minimal and maximal intersections on each end of the fillet
Minimal	Trims the fillet surface to the minimal intersecting areas on the face boundaries
Maximal	Trims the fillet surface to the maximal intersecting areas on the face boundaries
Beveled	Creates a bevel between the minimal and maximal intersections on each end of the fillet
None	Generates the entire fillet without trimming
Circular	Creates a fillet surface with a circular cross section
Approx Circular	Creates a fillet surface with an approximately circular cross section
Linear	Creates a fillet surface with a linear cross section
Tangent Continuous Blend	Creates a fillet surface with a tangent continuous G1 cross section
Curvature Continuous Blend	Creates a fillet surface with a curvature continuous G2 cross section
Rate of Curvature Continuous Blend	Creates a fillet surface with a G3 cross section, matching the rate of change between the adjacent surfaces

3.

Click OK.

A NURBS surface is created between the two objects.

The position of the fillet surface depends on the surface normals. The fillet is created differently if the Reverse Normal button is clicked for one or both of the surfaces in the Object Info palette.

Creating a Seamless Join

The resulting fillet can then be used to create a seamless join between NURBS surfaces.

To create a seamless join between NURBS surfaces:

1.	Select all NURBS surfaces, and then select Model > Add Solids to add the fillet surface to the NURBS surfaces.

2.	With the surfaces still selected, select Modify > Convert > Convert to NURBS to convert all the surfaces of the solid to NURBS surfaces.

3.	Select Modify > Ungroup to display all individual surfaces.

4.	Click on the drawing area to deselect the objects. Delete the surfaces that are not to be used in the final object.