With Flat surface support as Off, the Z levels are calculated at a constant Z increment. With Flat surface support as Level or Area, extra levels are inserted above each flat surface in the model. This ensures that the finish allowance will be accurately left on all flat surfaces.
There are three options available for flat surface support:
Level - machines whole flat Z levels.
Area- machines flat areas only (rather than the whole level).
Off - flat areas are not considered.
The images below illustrate the differences in the slicing. The second picture shows the slices without Flat surface support. The bottom picture shows the additional slices that are added with the level option invoked.
Here is another example.
Level - machines whole flat Z levels.
Looking at a different angle you can see that three complete levels are machined.
Area- machines flat areas only (rather than the whole level).
Looking at a different angle you can see that only the flat areas are machined in the first level.
Off - flat areas are not considered.
