Fillets, Chamfers & Patterns

Fillets & Chamfers

Fillet vs Chamfer

Fillet (Rounded Edge)

A smooth arc that spreads out stress and makes edges safer to handle. Great on internal corners.

Chamfer (Angled Edge)

An angled bevel, usually 45°. Helps bolts slide into holes and removes sharp outside edges.

1 Experience

2 Reflect

3 Theorize

4 Apply

Typical Values

Fillets: 1.5-3 mm for most plastic and aluminum parts.
Chamfers: 1-2 mm at 45° on the edge of any hole you'll bolt into.
Big structural fillets: 5-8 mm when the inside corner has to survive heavy loads.

Fillets and chamfers almost always go on last, after shells, patterns, and boolean operations.

Patterns - Copy Features the Smart Way

When you need the same feature in many spots, don't re-sketch it. A Pattern makes perfect copies.

Rectangular Pattern

Copies a feature along a straight grid - rows and columns. Perfect for bolt arrays on a plate.

Circular Pattern

Copies a feature around a center point. Used for bolt circles, spokes, and gear teeth.

Pattern Along Path

Copies a feature evenly along any curve - handy for rivets on a curved panel.

Mirror - Build Half, Get the Whole

A Mirror reflects features (or entire bodies) across a plane. If your design is symmetrical - and most robot parts are - only model one half, then mirror.

Pattern / Mirror Workflow

Finish the Original Feature

Get the first hole, rib, or pocket exactly right before you copy it.

Pick the Right Pattern Type

Grid? Rectangular. Circle? Circular. Symmetric left-right? Mirror.

Set Count & Spacing

Type exact numbers. Don't eyeball it - that's what CAD is for.

Order matters: Apply fillets and chamfers after patterns, not before. Otherwise each copy gets its own separate edge blend, which bloats the feature tree and slows down rebuilds.

Pause and Reflect

When would you choose a fillet over a chamfer? Think of a specific robotics example.

Why is using Mirror usually better than manually sketching both halves of a symmetric part?

✓ Your reflections are saved automatically

Apply What You Learned

Take a simple rectangular plate and refine it into a finished bolt-pattern bracket.

Add a single hole to the plate, correctly dimensioned
Use a Rectangular Pattern to copy the hole into a 2x3 grid
Add fillets (1.5 mm) to the outer edges for handling comfort
Add chamfers (1 mm) to the top of every bolt hole as a lead-in

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