Contour
At a glance
- Tool selection with climb or conventional cut direction per operation
- Stepdowns, tabs (automatic or manual), leads, stock to leave, ramps, and depth strategy
- Tabbed contours preserve tab height and lead behavior in preview and posted output
Contour is the profile cut: it follows part outlines with the cutter offset half a tool diameter to the correct side — outside the perimeter, inside holes. Every layer color on the sheet gets a row in the OPERATIONS list; set its type to Contour and click the gear to open Operation Parameters, where the settings live in Tool, Heights, Passes, Tabs, and Leads tabs.
Tool and direction
Pick a flat, ball, or bullnose endmill from the machine's tool library — a Tool Library… button sits right next to the dropdown so you can add a cutter without leaving the dialog. Cut Direction is per-operation: Climb or Conventional. The Feed & Speeds section carries the tool's cutting, lead, ramp, and plunge feedrates, editable per operation.
Depth and passes
The Heights tab defines Clearance, Feed, Top, and Bottom planes, each measured from Top of Part, Bottom of Part, or an absolute Z — and while the tab is focused, four color-coded transparent planes render in the scene so you can see exactly where each height lands. Split the cut into stepdowns by Number of Stepdowns or Stepdown Height; the dialog reports the resulting pass count and final stepdown. Stock to Leave takes signed radial and axial values (negative is allowed for fitment), and Take Finish Cut adds a cleanup pass back to nominal, with its own lead-in and lead-out.
Tabs and leads
Material Tabs hold parts to the sheet skeleton: automatic even spacing by count, or manual click-to-place, with tab length and height you control. Tabbed contours keep their Z lifts through preview, simulation, and posted G-code. Lead-in supports arc or line entry with radius/length and angle; lead-out adds an Overcut option that re-traces past the start point for a clean wall.