SolidWorks offers two methods for breaking sharp corners; this is done with Fillet or Chamfer. This tutorial will cover the use of chamfers and dimensioning them in drawings.

In a Sketch

To create a chamfer in a sketch, expand the “Sketch Fillet” drop down and select “Sketch Chamfer”. Use angle-distance to specify both an angle and distance for the chafer, alternatively use distance-distance to specify X/Y dimensions. When using angle-distance, the order of the lines selected can change the orientation. For the example below, use distance-distance with equal distance ticked, and set the chamfer to 10mm.

Note: Relations may be broken when placing the chamfer; as a result the sketch may need to be fully defined.

Tip: Apply fillets/chamfers as the last step of the design. Apply fillets/chamfers of the same size in a single operation.

As a Feature

Fillets can be applied to bodies using the “Chamfer” tool. The same angle-distance and distance-distance options are available using chamfer, however there are a few more options as well. The other options are: vertex, offset face and face-face.

Angle-Distance – set both angle and distance, then select an edge(s).

Distance-Distance – Input X/Y chamfer dimensions, then select an edge(s).

Vertex – Input X/Y/Z dimensions or set as equal distance, select a vertex.

Offset – Input chamfer dimension(s) [use flip direction if X/Y values were entered in the wrong order], input start and end conditions to create a partial fillet on the selected edge(s). The offset type and chamfer dimensions must be the same for all of the selected edges. To edit a specific edge, select it from the list of items to chamfer and edit as required. The start point is indicated by a purple vertex and the end point by a green vertex.

Face-Face – Select two adjacent faces and specify a chord width if the chamfered width is critical.

For the following example select the offset chamfer type, and use the following parameters:

Edge 1 – Symmetric 5mm chamfer, use offset values of 1mm and 3mm, for the start and end conditions.

Edge 2 – Symmetric 5mm chamfer, use offset values of 7mm and 4mm, for the start and end conditions.

Dimensioning in a drawing

Expand the dimensions drop down and select “Chamfer Dimension”. Select the edge of the chamfer then the top edge of the part. The value of the dimension of a chamfer is dependent on the edges that were selected, and the order in which they are selected. Selecting the edge of the chamfer and the left edge will display a value of 2.55×65°. The 5mm dimension is not required, it has been included for reference.