Variable Radius Face Fillet?

[Keith1029]

Does anyone know of a way to create a “Free Form” fillet to allow better control of a variable radius fillet? I have an edge where 2 curved surfaces meet and I am trying to define a fillet, similar to the one created by the face fillet, but with a variable radius (is there a “variable radius face fillet?) I am using SW 2009 SP 2.1. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Can you post a sketch, image or sample file to show what you need?

 

[Keith1029]

Sorry. Attached is a replica of the section of the part that is in question (for attachment to a gauging fixture). I made the fillets on the spoke using a face fillet. I would like to make this out of one piece using a 3 axis mill. The problem is that I have no access to a small triangular section of material, just in front of and just to the side of the front radius. I think if I was able to pull this radius up above the envelope of the cylinder I should be able to make a smooth profile from both sides with a conventional ball mill without the alarms telling me that I am going to take a chunk out of the base cylinder. Am I over complicating the problem?
Thanks.

 

[Theophilus]

I don't know that you'll get any of the Fillet features to work for what you need--sometimes using the Hold Line will take care of one of the edges (check that out in Help if you've not already seen it).

But you could do this the "manual" way with surfaces to get exactly what you need. This involves lots of surfacing features, such as Split Lines, Deleted Faces, and either Fills or Lofts (depending on what sorts of tangency controls you need). That's probably a bit too much for me to detail in a single post, but the tools are actually quite powerful once you get familiar with them.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.

 

[Keith1029]

Thanks Jeff, I have not been very familiar with the surfacing tools set in the past; but there is no better time to learn. I will post back if I am having any specific issues with it.

 

[Theophilus]

Good luck. Essentially, you use the Split Lines to establish breaks in your surfaces, so you can delete some of what you've got while keeping what you want to remain. You also create edges, or boundaries, which you can use in your Fill feature. Fill allows you to designate your edges as either Contact or Tangent, and sometimes it takes some messing around to get it just right.

Good luck.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.