2D Contour
At a glance
- Pick model edges, flat faces, or sketch curves—the cut path builds from real geometry, not typed coordinates
- Heights snap to stock, model, work zero, or a picked face; Bottom auto-follows the deepest contour you picked
- Climb or conventional, tool-radius comp to either side, multiple depth passes, stock to leave, finish pass
- Holding tabs (spaced or click-placed), arc/line leads, and a profile ramp instead of a straight plunge
- A flat arrow at each contour shows—and flips—the offset side; Shift-click builds an open chain edge by edge
Contour is the profile cut — it follows part outlines with the cutter offset half a tool diameter to the correct side: outside a perimeter, inside a hole. What makes Mill's Contour different is that you build the path by pointing at the model instead of typing numbers.
Pick geometry, not numbers
Click model edges and the connected loop chains itself; click a flat face and every boundary becomes a contour at that face's height; or pick sketch curves. The operation reads its cut path from your actual geometry. Hold Shift and click connected edges to hand-build an open contour edge by edge — see Picking geometry for the full convention.
Heights that follow the part
Clearance, feed, top, and bottom planes snap to stock top/bottom, model top/bottom, the work zero, or a face or edge you click. The Bottom auto-follows the deepest contour you picked, so the cut depth comes straight from the geometry — no measuring, no typing. Override it any time.
Cut it the way you would
Climb or conventional, tool-radius compensation to either side, and multiple depth passes set by count or by maximum stepdown. Leave a skin with signed radial and axial stock to leave and add an optional finish pass. Hold parts to the skeleton with tabs — evenly spaced or placed by click. Lead in and out with an arc or line at your radius and angle, or ease down with a profile ramp instead of a straight plunge.
See — and flip — the offset side
Each picked contour shows a flat arrow sitting on the cut side, offset out by the tool radius. Click it — or the ⇆ button in the dialog — to flip which side of the line the tool runs (or, for an open chain, which way it offsets). Change the model and any operation whose picks no longer resolve is flagged stale and kept intact so you can re-pick, never quietly dropped.