You can use the Fill tool from the Edit group on the Design tab to remove and cap round faces. You might want to do this if you are trying to move a protrusion surrounded by round faces and it cannot be moved because the rounds create complex or difficult geometry. The Fill tool attempts to remove the rounds of the faces you select, and extend the faces that are not selected. With the Fill too, you can double-click a rounds chain to remove a long continuous chain of rounds.
Before you begin
- You will have a greater chance of success if you remove only a few rounds at a time. If you spend a lot of time removing rounds, you may want to review DesignSpark Mechanical's tutorials or technical support information, online at DesignSpark Mechanical.com for advanced techniques you can use when removing rounds.
- Closely inspect your model from various angles and zoom levels, so you can best determine the areas of rounds you want to remove. Each area of a model is unique, and different areas may require different approaches to round removal.
- To ensure accurate and complete round removal, remove the rounds in the reverse order in which they were created, as shown in the example below of a model with colored rounds:
To fill a round or chamfer
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Click the Select tool guide.
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Select the round or chamfer.
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Click the Fill tool or press F to fill the round and create caps if necessary.
A Round Group is created in the Groups panel each time you fill a round.
You can fill any round created in DesignSpark Mechanical, even a round that removes the underlying face, until the round is changed by some other action.
To remove a round face
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Select the round face.
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Click the Fill tool or press F.
If removing a face makes an invalid solid, the solid is converted to a surface.
If a round face is difficult to remove, try Alt+clicking it with the Fill tool, or using the Replace tool.
Capping multiple round faces
When multiple selected round faces are removed by the Fill tool, they are removed in a specific order so that they can be restored by right-clicking and selecting Reattach Rounds for each group, in reverse order.
Usually you can select all the round faces and click the Fill tool to remove and cap them all. However, sometimes this is not possible. In that case, select one round and fill it. If that works, undo and select that round and the next. Undo. Continue adding rounds to your selection and trying to fill them until the fill fails. Now you have identified one of the rounds that is causing the problem. Next, fill all the rounds that filled successfully. Finally, repeat this process in the other direction of the round tangent chain. Once you have filled all the rounds except for the one or two causing the problem, select the one causing the problem and its two neighbors. Then click Fill. This process allows more options for the extension of neighboring edges to intersect and cap the round.
If you are experiencing difficulty filling a chain of round faces, first split the round faces, then fill the newly created faces, then fill the remaining round faces.
Examples
A difficult-to-remove round replaced before removing
Filling a corner round that was created as a surface-surface round in an imported design
About to fill imported geometry bounded by surface rounds
Filling a rounded edge chain - the original chain to be filled, chain after splitting round faces, and filled chain
If a round cannot be removed, a "stop face" is added and round removal is discontinued (A stop face is a cap or vent face.)
You can fill a chain of round faces when only one end of the round chain has a stop face.
Using other tools to remove rounds
Replace tool
As an option, when removing rounds, you can also use the Replace tool from the Edit group on the Design tab, to replace one face with another. You can replace multiple faces with a single face, replace a single face with multiple faces, or replace multiple faces with multiple other faces.
Full round replaced with a face
Progression using a face to remove a round
Sphere tool
- Try using the Sphere tool from the Insert group on the Design tab. Using this tool, you can create a round sphere and place it at difficult geometry junctions. Once in place you can use the sphere to split the junction in order to remove the round. In some cases, you may want to create a chain of two or more spheres to help with removing larger or more complex rounds areas.
- To avoid trouble with removing spheres, it's good practice to fill the sphere immediately after you remove the rounds on either side of a sphere or sphere chain.
Using the Sphere tool to split and partially remove a round