Help needed with adding fillet

[AndyNC]

Hi,

I'm new to FreeCAD and I'm having a problem with adding a fillet to a 3D object.
I've read a few tutorials and I can get so far but I'm now stuck
If I create a rectangle and extrude it I get a 3d block.
I select two faces and use the fillet button, set a radius and predd return. The 3D block then dissapears and I get an exclamation mark next to the fillet icon under the Model list.
Please excuse the terminology, I'm new to this.

I'm using
OS: Windows 7
Word size: 64-bit
Version: 0.14.3700 (Git)
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-14
Hash: 32f5aae0a64333ec8d5d160dbc46e690510c8fe1
Python version: 2.7.6
Qt version: 4.8.5
Coin version: 4.0.0a
SoQt version: 1.6.0a
OCC version: 6.6.0

Has anyone any experience of this and could they possible tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Many thanks

Andy

[NormandC]

Hello Andy,

Welcome here.

There are two Fillet tools in FreeCAD, one in the Part workbench, and one in the Part Design workbench. Which one are you trying to use?

Have you looked at the online documentation?
Part Fillet
PartDesign Fillet

If your fillet radius is equal to the height of one of the faces, it will fail. Fillets cannot consume a face completely, it's a limitation of the geometric modeling kernel that FreeCAD is based on.

[jmaustpc]

Hi Andy welcome (first post)

The 3D block then dissapears

that happens when your solid is not valid for some reason or other, as to exactly why, if you attach a file to your post we could have a look and tell you, otherwise it is a pure guess, particularly since your terminology can be interpreted as meaning different things. So I can't duplicate what you have done. You should mention what workbench or benches you are talking about. For example, "create a rectangle" there are three common ways to make a rectangle in FreeCAD and some more that are less common.

anyway if you post a demo file, we can get back to you with a proper answer.

Jim

[NormandC]

Part Fillet won't accept faces as selection, there's an error message that says so. So I guess Andy used PartDesign Fillet. Selecting two faces of a primitive cube and clicking on the Fillet tool works by adding fillets to the edges along the selected faces. If it doesn't work, then as I said it's probably that the fillet consumes one of the faces.

[jmaustpc]

Hi Norm
Quite probably you are right. You posted while I was typing, I still posted since we said slightly different things.

Actually, one possible interpretation could be Draft Rectangle (NOT in face or Part mode), Part extrude....creates a open ended shell, Part fillet will fillet the shell on the 4 edges with a face either side, i.e. not the end edges of course.

If we had a file we would know.

OS: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.15.4150 (Git)
Branch: master
Hash: 267ca0813a20a3d7c04b4affae5d45f6d5187966
Python version: 2.7.6
Qt version: 4.8.6
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 6.7.1

[AndyNC]

Many thanks for your replies.

I have found the problem but I had gone to bed before the moderator allowed my post so I couldn't respond immediately.

I found that if the radius is greater than the thickness of the object it fails to work and the object disappears which is what normandc suggested.

I have read some of the documentation but I didn't see this particular point mention.

I was using Part Design workbench.

A question regarding FreeCAD usage: When this problem occurred there was and exclamation mark in the fillet icon in the part tree. Is there a way of finding out what the cause is.

Many thanks

Andy

[jmaustpc]

When this problem occurred there was and exclamation mark in the fillet icon in the part tree. Is there a way of finding out what the cause is.

If you look down a 2) in the picture below, when first created with an error, a error message will show down here. To be honest it is unlikely that the error will mean much to you as they are referring to the code.

After creation, if you hover the mouse pointer over the items in Treeview,... e.g. like 1) in the picture below... you will see a message down here at 2).... you will get the very helpful "valid" or in this case "error"

messages.jpg (111.71 KiB) Viewed 2494 times

[jmaustpc]

Many thanks for your replies.

I have found the problem but I had gone to bed before the moderator allowed my post so I couldn't respond immediately.

Moderator approval is only required for a first post, we started getting so many spammers that we had to implement this ....

This is the same reason why we were forced to disallow anonymous posting some time ago (we were still on source forge back then).