How do I remove a bevel in Maya?

Removing a bevel in Maya typically involves deleting the history of the bevel operation or manually repairing the geometry if the history has already been baked. The most straightforward approach depends on whether the bevel is still an active, editable operation or if its effects have become permanent geometry.

Here's how to remove a bevel in Maya:

Method 1: Deleting Bevel History (Recommended for Active Bevels)

This method is ideal when the bevel operation (polyBevel node) is still part of your object's construction history, meaning you can easily undo or modify it.

Using the Channel Box or Attribute Editor

This is the most common and precise way to remove a specific bevel without affecting other history operations.

Select the Object: In your Maya scene, select the 3D model that has the bevel you wish to remove.
Open Channel Box/Layer Editor: On the right side of the Maya interface, ensure the Channel Box/Layer Editor tab is active.
Locate the polyBevel Node: Under the "INPUTS" section, you will see a list of construction history nodes applied to your object. Look for a node named polyBevel (or polyBevel1, polyBevel2, etc., if you have applied multiple bevels).
Delete the Node:
- Select the polyBevel node in the INPUTS list.
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
- Alternatively, right-click on the polyBevel node and choose Delete Selected Node.

This action will effectively revert the geometry to its state before the bevel was applied, removing the extra edges and faces created by the bevel.

Using the Script Editor for Targeted Deletion

For more direct control, especially if dealing with complex scenes or specific node naming, you can use Maya's Script Editor to delete the polyBevel node.

Open the Script Editor: Go to Windows > General Editors > Script Editor.
Identify the Bevel Node Name:
- Select your object in the viewport.
- In the Channel Box, under "INPUTS," you'll see the exact name of your polyBevel node (e.g., polyBevel1, polyBevelCube).
Execute the Delete Command: In the bottom pane of the Script Editor (the command input field), type the delete command followed by the name of your polyBevel node and a semicolon.
- For example, if your bevel node is named polyBevel1, you would type:
```
delete polyBevel1;
```
- Press Enter on your keyboard to execute the command. This will immediately remove the specified bevel.

Deleting All History (Use with Caution)

This method removes all non-deformer construction history from your object, including all bevels, extrusions, merges, etc. While quick, it is less precise and should be used carefully.

Select the Object: Select the 3D model from which you want to remove the bevel.
Delete History: Go to Edit > Delete by Type > History.

This will permanently bake the current state of your mesh and remove all editable history, including any bevels. If you only want to remove a specific bevel, use the Channel Box/Attribute Editor method described above.

Method 2: Manually Repairing Geometry (For Baked Bevels)

If the bevel's history has already been deleted (e.g., you used Delete by Type > History previously), the bevel's geometry is now permanent. You'll need to manually clean up the mesh.

Removing Unwanted Edges and Vertices

This involves carefully selecting and deleting the extra edges and vertices created by the bevel, then potentially merging others to restore the original topology.

Select Edges: Go into Edge selection mode. Select the edges that form the bevel. These are usually the extra edges running along the smoothed corner.
Delete Edge/Vertex:
- Press Ctrl + Delete (or Cmd + Delete on Mac). This uses the Edit Mesh > Delete Edge/Vertex command, which removes the selected edges and any isolated vertices, trying to preserve quad/triangle faces where possible.
- Avoid simply pressing Delete, as this might leave floating vertices, creating unwanted holes or non-manifold geometry.
Merge Vertices/Edges (If necessary): If deleting edges leaves gaps or unmerged vertices, you might need to:
- Select pairs of vertices that should be merged (e.g., vertices that were originally one).
- Go to Edit Mesh > Merge Vertices > Merge (or adjust Threshold in options).
- Alternatively, use Edit Mesh > Merge for edges.

Reconstructing Faces

If the manual deletion creates holes in your mesh, you'll need to reconstruct the faces.

Fill Hole:
- Select the open edge loop surrounding the hole.
- Go to Mesh > Fill Hole. This will create a new face to cover the hole. Be aware this can create N-gons (faces with more than four sides), which may need to be cleaned up with Mesh > Quadrangulate or manually split into quads/triangles.
Bridge:
- If you have two separate edge loops that need to be connected across a gap, select both edge loops.
- Go to Mesh > Bridge. This will create new faces to connect the two loops.

Method 3: Modifying or Disabling a Bevel (Alternative to Deletion)

Instead of outright deleting a bevel, you might want to temporarily disable it or reduce its effect. This only works if the polyBevel node is still active in the object's history.

Adjusting Bevel Attributes

Select the Object: Select your object in the viewport.
Select polyBevel Node: In the Channel Box/Layer Editor, select the polyBevel node under the "INPUTS" section.
Modify Attributes: Adjust the attributes in the Channel Box or Attribute Editor to reduce or effectively "hide" the bevel:
- Offset: Reduce this value to 0 or a very small number. This controls the width of the bevel.
- Segments: Change this to 0 or 1. Reducing segments makes the bevel less smooth or effectively removes the rounding.
- Depth: Set this to 0 to make the bevel flat.
- Experiment with these values until the bevel is no longer visible or meets your desired appearance.

Quick Comparison of Bevel Removal Methods

Method	Description	Pros	Cons	Ideal Use Case
Delete `polyBevel` Node	Deletes the specific bevel operation from history via Channel Box/Script Editor.	Precise, non-destructive to other history.	Only works if history is active.	Most common, targeted removal of an active bevel.
Delete All History	Removes all construction history from the object.	Quick and easy.	Deletes ALL history, making other operations permanent.	When all history can be safely removed, or for final meshes.
Manually Repair Geometry	Edits the mesh directly by deleting/merging components.	Works on baked geometry where history is gone.	Time-consuming, requires careful manual selection and repair.	When bevel history is already baked.
Modify Bevel Attributes	Adjusts the `polyBevel` node's settings to minimize or disable its appearance.	Non-destructive, allows easy re-activation.	Bevel node still exists in history, just not visible.	Temporarily hiding or fine-tuning a bevel.

No matter which method you choose, regularly saving your work and using Maya's undo function (Z or Ctrl+Z) can help you recover from unintended changes.