Chamfer

Use Chamfer to cut a flat bevel where a fillet would round. Select one or more edges, press H, and type a distance.

One distance, and only one

The popover has two rows: the edges, and the Distance. Distance is the setback from the edge, the same on both faces. There is no second distance, no angle, and no reference face to choose.

Everything else works exactly as Fillet describes: one distance for every edge in the feature, all edges on one body, above zero and up to 100 mm, and edges that vanish are dropped silently while the rest carry on.

Choosing a chamfer over a fillet

For a printed part the choice is usually about the machine rather than the look.

A chamfer on the bottom edge prints; a fillet on it does not. A round at the base of a wall starts as a near-horizontal overhang against the plate, which the first layers cannot support. A 45° bevel is exactly the overhang most printers handle without help. Look at almost any printed bracket: the underside is chamfered and the top is rounded.

A chamfer is a lead-in. A bevel around a hole or on the end of a peg guides the mating part in. A fillet in the same place does the opposite. It leaves material where the other part needs to start.

A fillet is for stress. Where a part will be loaded, a round spreads the load and a sharp internal corner concentrates it. Round the inside corners that carry force, and bevel the outside ones you have to print or fit.

When it fails

The failure is the same as a fillet's, and so is the fix. The message names the likely causes, and the first thing to try is a smaller distance.

Chamfer geometry failed — common causes: distance too large, edges interfere, edges not connectable. Try a smaller distance or fewer edges.

Halve the distance and rebuild. If it still fails, take the stubborn edges out of the selection and bevel them in a second chamfer.

See also

• Fillet: a round instead of a bevel
• Cut and Push Face: cutting a bevel a chamfer cannot make