What’s the Difference Between Bevel and Chamfer?

What is Bevel?

A bevel is a plane on a part that is tilted at any Angle to the datum. The degree of inclination of the bevel relative to the base plane is mainly measured by the inclination.

In the production of parts, milling is one of the main methods of machining parts bevels. Bevel angles can be measured at any angle other than 45 degrees.

And the function of the bevel is to improve wear resistance, safety, and aesthetics of the machined parts.

For example, bevels are present in the blades of cutting tools, mirrors, and glass furniture to prevent injury from the sharp edges of the glass.

What is Chamfer?

Chamfering refers to the process of cutting the edges and corners of the workpiece into a certain slope.

Chamfering is to remove the burrs on the machined parts due to machining, and also to facilitate the assembly of the machined parts, generally making chamfers at the ends of the machined parts. Chamfers include outer and inner chamfer.

That is the outer chamfer and the inner chamfer forms a chamfer. The inner chamfer is concave, that is, the inner chamfer is the chamfer of the concave part inside the part.

And the outside chamfer is convex, that is, the outside chamfer is part of the external protruding chamfer.

The Functions of Chamfering Are As Follows:

1. Remove sharp edges(for safety)
2. Guide(Conducive to assembly)
3. Remove burrs and make the machined parts beautiful.
4. Bearing steel must be chamfered during rough machining before heat treatment. When the material is subjected to such heat treatment, it plays a very important role in the release of stress, the redistribution of the internal structure, the avoidance of cracks, and the reduction of deformation.

Generally, the function of chamfering is to remove burrs and make them beautiful. However, for the chamfering specified in the drawing, is generally a requirement of the installation process, such as the installation guide of the bearing, and some arc chamfers (or arc transitions) can also reduce stress concentration and strengthen the shaft.

The role of the strength of the class parts. In addition, the assembly can be made easier, which is generally carried out before the end of processing.

On agricultural machinery parts, especially the end faces of round fittings and round holes are often processed into chamfer of about 45°.

These chamfers have various functions and must be carefully checked and fully utilized in maintenance operations, otherwise, they will bring many difficulties to the maintenance of agricultural machinery, and even cause unexpected failures.

For example, before the forming process of small parts such as bolts, chamfering is also performed, so that the material can easily enter the forming die.

Bevel vs Chamfer

Comparative Table of Bevel And Chamfer

Left bevel, right chamfer

Expanded Knowledge

The Cost of Adding Bevel And Chamfer in A Part

It’s easy to see why bevels and chamfers are used to protect parts and their users.

However, these features are often more for aesthetics than function, and adding the extra bevel And chamfer will increase the production cost of the machined component.

Some practical questions to ask before including a bevel or chamfer in your design:

Does the part require bevels or chamfers to function?

Are bevels required for safety purposes?

How to check the tolerance of bevels or chamfers?

Are bevels and chamfers a cost-effective feature to add to a design?

Features such as bevels and chamfers require additional time in the manufacturing process.

Even a 5% increase in time per part adds up to a considerable cost increase when multiplied by the number of parts produced.

If the extraneous features don’t have any necessary function or purpose, reconsider adding bevels and chamfers.

The specified tolerances for bevels or chamfers should also undergo some scrutiny.

Machine shops need more time to manufacture and inspect tighter tolerances, which also increases the expense of part production.

Money-Saving Countersinks and Other Chamfering Features

While the aesthetic uses of chamfer should be carefully examined to avoid unnecessary manufacturing costs, there are some affordable chamfer applications.

For example, countersinking threaded holes help avoid burrs during the tapping process which can affect how the two mating surfaces hold together.

Countersinks also help the bolts align correctly at the outset and avoid costly cross-threading during assembly.

For some holes, such as aircraft rivets, accurate countersinks are so important that they require tight tolerances to ensure a sufficient amount of mating material available for a secure connection.

Another cost-effective use of chamfering is on internal features of iron-cut parts. Design chamfers into a part feature rather than grinding them flat to reduce part manufacturing costs.

Chamfering will reduce the time it takes to cut right angles in a part and allow the use of cheaper tools. Internal chamfer also helps prevent dust and waste from accumulating in the corners of the machined part.

Considering all of these issues before designing the bevel or chamfer into the machined part provides advantages.

If the design does not require these features, eliminating the addition of bevels and chamfers to the part will simplify manufacturing, saving time and money.

On the other hand, if the design does require bevels and chamfers, the impact on production time and expense can still be reduced.

One approach is to provide large tolerances, simplifying the manufacture of bevels and chamfers if exact dimensions are not critical.

Another option is to completely remove the chamfer feature from the CAD model and add a note on the 2D drawing instructing the machine shop to “remove all sharp edges”.

Yijin Hardware Co., Ltd. specializes in precision machining and provides OEM ODM services for various industries including aviation, electronics, furniture, military defense, health care, automotive, communication, racing cars, new energy, and infrastructure construction (such as high-speed trains and bridges).

Based on its exceptional standards, Yijin Hardware has got a lot of experience in providing cost-effective professional services for both private companies and governmental agencies for 20 Years, with a real focus on customer satisfaction.