SolidWorks® Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible

Chapter 7. Using Advanced Fillets

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Differentiating fillet functions

• Using fillet options

• FilletXpert

• Fillet best practice recommendations

• Tutorial

Although you do not use fillets to create the major faces in complex parts, they can either make or break the look of a part. Knowing where to place (or not place) a fillet can be important not just to the look, but also to the quality of the model for downstream applications such as machining, mold design, or stress analysis. Further, being able to visualize what you want a fillet to do at corners and intersections and then being able to translate that visualization into CAD geometry can be crucial to a particular part. Having the complete set of filleting tools at your disposal gives you many options to create the geometry you want.

I think that filleting is one of the underappreciated functions in SolidWorks. The filleting tools can deliver results in an amazing range of situations, and a well–placed fillet can at times rescue a troubled model. When fillets fail, there is usually a tangible reason that you can identify, and then either fix the situation or approach the problem in a different way.

Fillets are also capable of introducing modeling difficulties when you apply them haphazardly. For this reason, I have added a section to this chapter that talks about best practice suggestions that may help you to avoid common pitfalls of filleting.

Differentiating Fillet Functions

You often hear fillets referred to as fillets, rounds, ...