Creating a fillet surface

The Create Fillet Surface command creates a surface between two selected surfaces, trimming the original surfaces by default.

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.

1. Select two NURBS surfaces. The position of the fillet surface depends on the normal of the NURBS surfaces; select Show Normal from the Object Info palette to display the surface normals.

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 use a circular cross section type, and the cross section examples use an edge tangency trim type. The original surfaces are trimmed.

Parameter	Description
Fillet Radius	Specifies the radius of the fillet surface
Trim Type
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
None	Generates the entire fillet without trimming the fillet surface
Cross Section Type
Circular	Creates a fillet surface with a 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
Trim Original Surfaces	Creates a fillet surface and trims the original surfaces where they connect to the fillet surface

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 from the Object Info palette.