THE PART BOOK About Solid Edge V15 Chapter 15 Rounds And Chamfers

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15.0 THE ROUND AND
CHAMFER COMMANDS

A standard feature on many parts is the rounding of edges, and the
chamfering of edges. Solid Edge offers two tools to help you
easily create these features models. The ROUND and
CHAMFER commands are discussed in this chapter to THE
PART BOOK About Solid Edge.

15.1 THE ROUND
COMMAND

WHAT: The ROUND command.

WHERE: The ROUND command is part of a fly-out
menu that also includes the CHAMFER command. It is located
about half way down the Features Menu. The ROUND command
and the fly-out menu are shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1

HOW: The ROUND can be used to create rounded edges
and fillets on models. The command will let you select various
combinations of edges on the model, and then add or remove
material to complete the desired ROUND operation.

The Ribbon Bar for the ROUND command is shown in three
parts to better fit the format of THE PART BOOK in Figure 2.



Figure 2

The first button on the Ribbon Bar is the ROUND OPTIONS
command. The Round Options form is shown in Figure 3.










Figure 3

The options for creating ROUNDS are:
Constant Radius, Variable Radius,
Blend, and Surface Blend.

Each selection of a Round Option will change the Ribbon Bar.

The Constant Radius option will create a round or fillet on the
model that has the same radius across the entire length of the
round or fillet. The model shown in Figure 4 has one round and
two fillets, all with a Constant Radius.

Figure 4

The Variable Radius option will create a fillet or round that has a
changing radius along the length of the fillet or round. The model
shown in Figure 5 has a Variable Radius round.







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Figure 5

The Blend option will create a round or fillet that will blend
between two surfaces on the model. Constant and Variable
Radius rounds and fillets are placed on the model by selecting an
edge that is the boundary between two adjacent surfaces on the
model. The Blend radius will be placed between two surfaces on a
model. These two surfaces do not have to touch or form an edge
on the model. This type of blending is not needed on all types of
models. It is usually helpful when creating plastics, casting and
forgings, where large radius values are called out on small areas of
the model.

Look at the model that is shown in Figure 6. The model has two
edges that are rounded.

Figure 6

A Blend round may be placed on the model between the two
rounded surfaces. This result is shown in Figure 7.






Figure 7

The Blend round may also create rounds and fillets on the model
that do not have a constant radius.

The Blended Surface ROUND option is discussed in the new
ADVANCED PART BOOK About Solid Edge.

When you select the Constant Radius option for the ROUND, the
Ribbon Bar will look like the one that is shown in three parts to
better fit the format of THE PART BOOK in Figure 8.



Figure 8

The Smart Step commands are:
SELECT STEP,
ROUND PARAMETERS,
SOFTEN CORNERS STEP, and
CANCEL/PREVIEW/FINISH.

These commands are shown again in Figure 9.

Figure 9

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In the SELECT STEP, you select the edges on which you want to
create ROUNDS. The Select field on the Ribbon Bar will give
you the choices shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10
The choices include:
Edge/Corner, Chain,
Face, Loop,
Feature, All Fillets, and
All Rounds.

After the selection of edges has been made, you set the size of the
rounds in the Radius field.

An Edge is the boundary where two surfaces touch. An example
of a rounded edge is shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11

A Corner is where Edges meet, as in the Corner of the block that
is shown rounded in Figure 12.

Figure 12
The Chain selection method will automatically select any edge of
a model that is tangent to the edge that you select. Look at the
model that is shown in Figure 13. Notice that the set of edges
around the top of the model are all tangent.

Figure 13

The Chain selection method will place a round edge all around the
top of the model with one selection. This is shown in Figure 14.


Figure 14

The Face selection method will let you select a face on a model,
and place rounds on all the edges of the face. This is shown on the
top face of the model in Figure 15.







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Figure 15

The Loop selection method will let you select a Loop on a model
(set of all continuous edges on a surface) and place rounds on the
edges that form the Loop. Look at the model that is shown in
Figure 16. The top surface of the model has two loops, one around
the outer edges of the top surface and one around the edge that
form the pocket in the top of the model.

Figure 16

ROUNDS are shown on each Loop in Figure 17.

Figure 17

The Feature selection method will let you select a Feature on the
model (like a PROTRUSION) and place rounds and fillets on all
edges of the Feature. Look at the model of the block with a boss
on the top that is shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18

The Feature selection method was used to create the rounds that
are shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19

The All Fillets and All Rounds selection methods will let you
select all the rounds and fillets on a model with one selection. The
result is shown in Figure 20.














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Figure 20

When you select the Variable Radius option for the ROUND
command, the Ribbon Bar will look like the one that is shown in
two parts to better fit the format of THE PART BOOK in Figure
21.


Figure 21

The Smart Step commands are:
SELECT STEP,
SELECT VERTICES,
SOFTEN CORNER STEP,
ROUND PARAMETERS, and
CANCEL/PREVIEW/FINISH.

In the Variable Radius option of the ROUND command, you use
the SELECT VERTICES command to select the ends of
segments or the midpoints of segments. When the segments are
selected, you key in various radius values for each vertex, thus
creating a ROUND that changes sizes, or varies in radius from
one end of the ROUND to the other end of the ROUND.

The rounded edge that is shown in the model in Figure 22 has a
varying radius. The radius is 1.000 inch on the left end of the
model, 1.5 at the midpoint, and .75 on the right end of the model.








Figure 22

The Constant Radius and Variable Radius options of the
ROUND command both have the same ROUND
PARAMETERS. The ROUND PARAMETERS button on the
Ribbon Bar is shown in Figure 23. The Round Parameters
window is shown in Figure 24.

Figure 23

Figure 24

When you make a selection in the Round Parameters window, a
preview of the result will be shown in the window. In Figure 25,
Roll Along Sharp Edges and Miter At Corner were selected. If
you select Cap Sharp Edges and Roll Around Corners, the
preview picture in the window will change.




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Figure 25

The Roll Across Tangent Edges selection will force the round to
roll across an edge on the model as long as the two surfaces on
each side of the edge are tangent. An example of this selection is
shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26

The same example is used without the Roll Across Tangent Edges
option in Figure 27. In each example, the Roll Along Sharp Edges
option was selected. In Figure 27, notice how the round was
truncated to roll along the edge between the two surfaces on the
model. In Figure 26, the round rolled across the edges between the
two surfaces on each side of the cylindrical boss.

Figure 27

The Cap Sharp Edges and Roll Along Sharp Edges options are
used to affect how the round reacts when it encounters the edge of
the model. Look at the model that is shown in Figure 28. In this
model the round edge adds material to the thickness of the bottom
portion of the model because the parameter selected is the Cap
Sharp Edges option.

Figure 28
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If the Roll Along Sharp Edges option is used, the model will look
like the one that is shown in Figure 29. In this figure notice that
there is no new material added to the model where the round runs
off the edge of the model. The round is forced to roll along the
sharp edge of the model. This will force the radius of the round to
be variable as it is formed on this part of the model.

Figure 29
If you select Blend from the ROUND OPTIONS form (Figure
30), the Ribbon Bar for the ROUND command will look like the
one shown in three parts to better fit the format of THE PART
BOOK in Figure 31.

Figure 30



Figure 31
The Smart Step commands are:
SELECT STEP,
OVERFLOW STEP, and
CANCEL/PREVIEW/FINISH.

These buttons are shown in Figure 32.

Figure 32

The SELECT STEP will let you select two surfaces or faces from
the model on which to create the blended radius. You will key in
the value of the blend you desire and check off the value.

The OVERFLOW STEP will become active when the radius
value is entered and the Enter key is pressed, or when the Check
Mark is selected. The Ribbon Bar will change to the one that is
shown in Figure 33.

Figure 33

The two buttons on the left end of Figure 33 are:
ROLL ALONG/ACROSS, and
TANGENT HOLD LINES.

The ROLL ALONG/ACROSS command will let you select two
surfaces for the blend, but you can tell the system to have the
blend follow a set of edges on the model.

Look at the model of a seat cushion that is shown in Figure 34.

Figure 34

The ROLL ALONG/ACROSS command was used to create the
blended radius that runs around the outside edge of the top of the
cushion. Figure 35 shows the model without the blended round.




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Figure 35

The top surface and the front wall were used as the two surfaces in
the blend. This is shown in Figure 36.

Figure 36

The ROLL ALONG/ACROSS command was used with the
sharp edge that runs all the way around the top of the model as
shown in Figure 37.

Figure 37
This selection of the top edge around the model forces the blended
round to be created all the way around the model, although only
two surfaces were selected for the blend.

When selecting the edges for the ROLL ALONG/ACROSS
command, you have the choices that are shown in the Select field.
This is shown in Figure 38.

Figure 38

The TANGENT HOLD LINE command can be used to force a
blended round to follow the edge of the model. When the
TANGENT HOLD LINE command is selected, two extra
buttons will appear on the Ribbon Bar (Figure 39). These
commands are:
DEFAULT RADIUS, and
FULL RADIUS.

Figure 39

The DEFAULT RADIUS command will force the blended round
to have the radius you key in, except when the size of the radius
forces the round to hit the edge selected as the TANGENT
HOLD LINE edge. The edge used as the TANGENT HOLD
LINE is shown in Figure 40.

Figure 40

When the round hits the edge selected, the size of the blended
round is determined by the model. This is shown in Figure 41.
Notice that the 1.2-inch radius fits on the surfaces of the model
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only on the right end of the model. As the round moves toward the
left end of the model, the radius takes on the shape of the part
edge.

Figure 41

If the FULL RADIUS command is used, the blended round will
take on the characteristics of the model edge that is used for the
TANGENT HOLD LINE. This is shown in Figure 42.

Figure 42

If you select the Constant Radius or Variable Radius options for
ROUND edges, the SOFTEN CORNER STEP will appear in the
Ribbon Bar for each option. The SOFTEN CORNER STEP
command is shown in Figure 43.

Figure 43

The SOFTEN CORNER STEP command will become active
when you ACCEPT (green check mark) the edges that will be
rounded. If you select the SOFTEN CORNER STEP command,
the Method field, Value field and the UNIQUE EDGES VALUE
button will appear on the right end of the Ribbon Bar. This is
shown in Figure 44.



Figure 44

To soften a corner, you must select the corner that will be softened
and then select the Method and enter a Value for the soften effect.
This is shown in Figure 45. There are two Methods:
Distance and
Multiple of Radius.


Figure 45

The Distance method will let you key in a distance that will
control how the ROUND creates the blend in the softened corner.

The model shown in Figure 46 has three edges rounded into the
same corner with no corner softening.

Figure 46

If the SOFTEN CORNER STEP is used on this corner, you
select the SOFTEN CORNER STEP button before you
PREVIEW the ROUND results. You can select the corner that
will be softened and then use a Distance method of 2.000. This
will soften the corner as shown in Figure 47.










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Figure 47

If you use the UNIQUE EDGES VALUE button to soften the
corner, the Edge Setbacks window will appear, as shown in Figure
48.

Figure 48

With this window, you can select a radius in the window (click on
the small button to the left of the radius value) and set the Value
of the Setbacks. This is shown in Figure 49.

Figure 49
Figure 50 shows the softened corner on the model with three
different Setbacks.

Figure 50

WHY: The ROUND command can be a powerful tool when
you are creating a model. Because of the ability to create rounds in
so many different ways, this command will allow you to create
models with all sharp edges and then apply the ROUNDS toward
the end of the modeling process. One of the big problems with
older CAD systems was the inability to add ROUNDS to the
model late in the modeling process. This problem forced users to
develop creative methods of modeling that were hard to learn,
harder to teach and tremendously time consuming.

Because of the power of the Solid Edge ROUND command, you
can create the basic models quickly and easily, knowing that the
ROUND command can be applied successfully to the model.

If you did not have the ROUND command, creating models of
castings, forgings and plastic parts would be practically
impossible.

EXAMPLE 1: Look at the model of the thin-shelled
plastic part that is shown in Figure 51. This is a model of a key on
a computer keyboard.

Figure 51
Value Of
Round
Soften Corner
Creates Blend
At Corner