In the contour toolpath you can select no offset, inside or outside offset. But i cant figure out how to program the distance of the offset.
It seems its always set at the radius of the cutter, anyway to program the offset differently?
It is set by the radius of the selected tool.
There is control over this if you have a Pro license:
Setting “Stock to Leave” and offsetting to one side or other will allow one to increase from the radius.
Thank you.
So basicly one could translate " stock to leave " as offset distance.
I thought stock to leave was refering to the depth and never understood why that was needed if you’ve already set the depth of cut above.
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With the free license and you pick outside contour with a 1/4" bit then you will cut down the outside of the line. If you pick inside then the bit will run on the inside of a line. If you pick no offset with a 1/4" bit then the bit will travel down the center line and carve 1/8" on each side of the line.
@WillAdams often recommends to not do slotting. That means doing a contour on the outside of the line you would use the “offset” tool and increase by more than 1/4" and the two lines are selected and a pocket tool path is used to the depth you want. The problem with slotting is there is big deflection and chip ejection. So if cutting out a project instead of a contour on the outside use the offset tool and offset like 3/8" and make a pocket. The bit will make a pass around at the cutting depth 1/4" wide with a 1/4" tool then it will make another pass touching the 3/8" offset and make a 3/8" slot around your project. This is not always practical if you need a 1/4" slot but whenever possible use a pocket that is more than the width of the bit.
A contour offset and just a plain offset are different. The offset tool adds to an existing object.
The contour offset is set in the tool path.
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Thank you.
What i was attepting to do is chamfer bores without plunging the point down on top of the bore diameter as it ramps down into the stock.
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