Adding Operations
Operations are created from selected geometry. The general workflow is:
- Select one or more compatible features in the feature tree or on the canvas.
- In the CAM panel, click Add to open the operation menu.
- The menu is a vertical list of every operation type. Each row has an info chevron that expands an example card describing the cut. Click the row's add button to create the operation.
- For operations that support rough and finish passes, choose Rough, Finish, or Rough + Finish.
If the selection is not compatible with the chosen operation type, a hint message explains what is needed. Fix the selection and try again.
Operation Types
Clears the interior of a closed subtract feature. Requires subtract features with closed profiles. Supports rough and finish passes.
Edge Route Inside
Cuts along the inside edge of a closed subtract feature. Requires subtract features with closed profiles. Supports rough and finish passes.
Edge Route Outside
Cuts along the outside edge of a closed add feature. Requires add features with closed profiles. Supports rough and finish passes. Used for cutting out parts. Surrounding add features are automatically treated as obstacles at every depth — passes are clipped so the tool never cuts into neighbouring material, while still descending to full depth where the obstacle is shallower than the current pass.
Surface Clean
Faces the top surface of a closed add feature. Requires add features with closed profiles. Supports rough and finish passes.
V-Carve Offset
V-carves a closed subtract feature using concentric offset contours. Requires subtract features with closed profiles. Uses V-bit tools only.
V-Carve Skeleton Experimental
V-carves a closed subtract feature using the medial axis (skeleton) of the profile. Produces a more natural carving result for text and organic shapes. Requires subtract features with closed profiles. Uses V-bit tools only. This operation is actively being improved.
Engrave (Follow Line)
Follows the path of any feature — open or closed — at a fixed carve depth. Used for engraving, centerline text, and decorative lines. Open sketch profiles are tagged as Line features and feed straight into this operation; closed features can also be engraved along their boundary.
3D Surface Rough
Top-down roughing of an imported 3D model. Cumulative model-shadow protection, parent-stock containment, region clipping, and pocket-aware split-depth carving leave a stepped semi-finished surface ready for a finish pass. Requires a Model feature (imported STL/OBJ).
3D Surface Finish
Finishing pass over the top surface of an imported 3D model. Choose Parallel for raster scanlines at a fixed angle, or Waterline for constant-Z contour rings (ideal for steep walls). Both strategies respect tabs, clamps, subtract pockets, and surrounding add features.
3D Surface Cleanup
Targeted cleanup pass that removes only the material left behind by a prior rough + finish combination — typically the stepped scallops in steep regions. Skips areas the finish already reached, so it runs much faster than re-running a full finish. Requires a model feature.
Drill
Drills holes at the center of circle features. Requires circle features. Supports simple, peck, dwell, and chip-breaking drill cycles. Holes are automatically ordered by nearest-neighbor travel, shortening rapid moves between holes.
Feature Requirements by Operation
| Operation | Required Feature Type | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Subtract | Closed | |
| Edge Route Inside | Subtract | Closed |
| Edge Route Outside | Add | Closed |
| Surface Clean | Add | Closed |
| V-Carve Offset | Subtract | Closed |
| V-Carve Skeleton Experimental | Subtract | Closed |
| Engrave | Any (Line, Add, Subtract, Region) | Open or Closed |
| 3D Surface Rough | Model (imported STL/OBJ) | — |
| 3D Surface Finish | Model (imported STL/OBJ) | — |
| 3D Surface Cleanup | Model (imported STL/OBJ) | — |
| Drill | Circle (any operation) | Circle only |
Operation Parameters
Select an operation in the list to edit its parameters in the right panel.
Common Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A descriptive name for the operation, shown in the operations list. |
| Kind | The operation type (read-only after creation). |
| Pass | Rough or Finish. Not available for Engrave, V-Carve, and Drill operations. |
| Tool | The tool to use. V-Carve operations only show V-Bit tools. Assigning a tool pre-fills the feed, plunge feed, stepdown, stepover, and RPM from the tool's defaults. |
| Machining Order |
Controls the sequence when an operation has multiple target features:
|
| Enabled | When unchecked, the operation is excluded from G-code export. The toolpath is still shown if visible. |
| Feed | Cutting feed rate for this operation. |
| Plunge Feed | Z-axis plunge feed rate. |
| RPM | Spindle speed. |
| Target | The features this operation applies to (read-only display). Use Use current selection to reassign. |
Pocket and Surface Clean Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Pattern | Offset (concentric inward passes) or Parallel (raster passes at a fixed angle). |
| Angle | The angle of parallel passes in degrees (Parallel pattern only). |
| Cut Direction | Conventional or Climb milling. |
| Stepdown | Depth per pass. |
| Stepover Ratio | Lateral step between passes as a fraction of tool diameter. |
| Stock To Leave Radial | Material left on walls for a subsequent finish pass. |
| Stock To Leave Axial | Material left on the floor for a subsequent finish pass. |
| Finish Walls | (Finish pass only) Whether to machine the walls to final dimension. |
| Finish Floor | (Finish pass only) Whether to machine the floor to final dimension. |
Offset-pattern passes simplify their internal polylines back into arcs and full circles where the geometry allows, with redundant points cleaned up via RDP simplification. The result is shorter, smoother G-code with fewer line segments — especially on circular and rounded-corner pockets.
3D Surface Parameters
3D Surface Rough, Finish, and Cleanup all target an imported model feature. Surrounding add features, subtract pockets, tabs, and clamps are protected automatically. Linking moves between cuts are optimized to reduce rapid travel, and Cut Direction is applied per-side so mixed outer / hole contours all cut in the requested direction.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Pattern |
Finish only.
|
| Angle | Angle of parallel scanlines in degrees (Parallel pattern only). |
| Stepdown | Vertical step between passes (Rough and Waterline Finish). Cleanup uses its own scallop-driven spacing and does not expose Stepdown. |
| Stepover Ratio | Lateral spacing between scanlines as a fraction of tool diameter (Parallel Finish, Rough). |
| Cut Direction | Conventional or Climb. Applied per-ring with tool-side topology awareness so mixed outer/hole contours all cut in the requested direction. |
| Stock To Leave Radial | Material left on the model surface for a subsequent finish or cleanup pass (Rough only). |
| Stock To Leave Axial | Vertical offset left above the model surface (Rough only). |
Waterline Quality Controls
When 3D Surface Finish uses the Waterline pattern, an extra group of quality controls becomes available. These trade extra computation for cleaner steep-wall finishes. The planner now snaps each ring's entry to the matching point on the ring above and below — successive levels enter the cut at the same XY location, eliminating spiral seams down steep walls — and tip-cap paths over rounded apex regions are smoother.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Adaptive Refinement | When enabled, the planner inserts additional waterline rings in regions where the surface drops faster than the configured threshold between consecutive Z levels. Smooths steep transitions without forcing a finer stepdown across the whole part. |
| Micro Stepover | Vertical spacing used for the inserted refinement rings. Defaults to a tool-aware value; lower values produce a finer finish at the cost of cut time. |
| Refinement Threshold | Surface-drop threshold (between adjacent base rings) that triggers refinement. Larger values refine only the steepest regions; smaller values refine more aggressively. |
| Max Rings Per Band | Upper bound on the number of inserted refinement rings between two base rings. Caps the worst-case path length when adaptive refinement encounters a near-vertical drop. |
Edge Route Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Cut Direction | Conventional or Climb milling. |
| Stepdown | Depth per pass. |
| Stock To Leave Radial | Material left on the edge for a finish pass. |
| Stock To Leave Axial | Material left on the floor for a finish pass. |
| Tabs | Click Auto place tabs to automatically place holding tabs. See Tabs & Clamps. |
V-Carve Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Max Carve Depth | The maximum depth the V-bit will plunge. Limits carve depth for wide areas. If the tool has a Max Cut Depth set, that value is used as the default. |
| Contour Spacing | (V-Carve Offset only) Spacing between offset contours. |
| Step Size | (V-Carve Skeleton only) Resolution of the skeleton computation. |
Engrave Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Carve Depth | The fixed depth below Z Top at which the tool follows the path. |
Drill Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Drill Type | Simple (G81), Peck (G83), Dwell (G82), or Chip Breaking (G73). |
| Peck Depth | Depth per peck increment (Peck and Chip Breaking only). |
| Dwell Time | Dwell time in seconds at the bottom of the hole (Dwell only). |
| Retract Height | Z height to retract to between holes. |
Rest Machining
When you add an Edge Route Inside or Edge Route Outside operation, PureCut CNC can automatically generate a rest region — a derived feature that represents the material left behind by the first tool that a smaller tool can clean up.
The rest region is created as a separate editable feature. The original operation targets are preserved unchanged. The rest operation targets the generated region with its tool reference cleared, so you can assign a different (typically smaller) tool to it independently.
Reassigning Operation Targets
To change which features an operation applies to, select the new features in the feature tree or on the canvas, then click Use current selection in the operation's properties panel. If the selection is not compatible, a message explains why.
You can include one or more Region features in any operation's target list to restrict where it cuts. Regions don't replace the machining target — they filter the generated toolpath to the union of the selected region profiles. With no regions selected, the operation cuts the full extent of its machining target.
Reordering Operations
Operations are executed in the order they appear in the list. Drag operations in the list to reorder them. The order affects the G-code output — operations are exported in list order.