Fillet, chamfer and shell
Fillet and chamfer act on edges you select. Shell acts on a face you select. Each one acts only on your selection: there is no whole-body fallback that picks edges for you.
| Tool | What it does | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fillet | Rounds the selected edges with one constant radius. | Radius |
| Chamfer | Cuts the selected edges back by one equal distance on both faces. | Distance |
| Shell | Hollows the body to a constant inward wall thickness, leaving the selected face open. | Thickness |
Selecting what to treat
- Fillet and chamfer: select one or more edges of the same body. Switch the selection filter to Edge (⌥⌘7) and ⇧-click to add edges, or double-click an edge to take a whole boundary loop.
- Shell: select the face that should be left open, such as the top of a box.
Starting the tool
With the selection made, use any of these:
- Fillet, Chamfer or Shell in the tool rail;
- the same button in the bar over the viewport;
- Model ▸ Fillet Selected Edges… (⌥⌘F), Model ▸ Chamfer Selected Edges… (⌥⌘C) or Model ▸ Shell, Opening Selected Face… (⌥⌘S).
If the tool does not apply to what is selected, it says why in the status bar instead of doing something else.
Setting the amount
A handle appears on the model and an editor bar shows the amount.
- Drag the handle on the model, or type an exact value in the field. The model rebuilds as you go.
- Reset returns to the amount the edit started with.
- Apply commits the result as a single undo step.
- Cancel, or Esc, puts the body back exactly as it was.
If an amount cannot be built, for example a radius too large for the neighbouring faces, the editor says so and the model keeps showing the last amount that could be built. Apply is available only once the geometry for the current amount has been built.
Editing later
A fillet, chamfer or shell is a feature of the body. Select it in the Parameters inspector to change its amount.
These tools also work on imported STEP and BREP solids. See Importing STEP and BREP.
Known limitation
A shell whose opening face is next to a fillet can fail to produce a hollow body. When that happens Shack CAD refuses the shell and explains why, rather than reporting an unchanged body as hollowed.