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Clearance - Specifies the absolute height at which the tool can move freely in the XY plane without encountering any material or fixtures. If more than one profile is machined with a single cycle, or the tool cannot enter an area, the tool lifts to the Clearance plane between each profile.
Retract - (Z Level Finishing only) Specifies the height (relative to the Level) at which the tool is to retract.
Level - Specifies the absolute height at which the cycle is to start.
Depth - (Z Level Finishing only) Specifies the depth (incremental from the Level) to complete the machining. Alternatively, input a calculation for the depth.
Safe Distance - Specifies the height above the next cutting pass the tool rapids down to before feeding down to the cutting depth. Otherwise, the tool feeds down to the cutting depth.
Finish At - Controls the behaviour of the tool at the end of the milling cycle:
Depth - The tool remains 'at depth' at the end of the last pass.
Clearance - The tool makes a rapid move to the Clearance plane from 'depth'.
Retract - The tool makes a rapid move to the Retract plane from 'depth'.
Stay at Depth - Only works when you have used a containment boundary on the projected toolpath. The link move between the trimmed ends of the toolpath follows the boundary contour when Stay at Depth is checked, unless the distance between the ends is greater than twice the tool diameter.
When Stay at Depth is unchecked or the distance between the trimmed ends is too great, the toolpath retracts to Clearance when a trimmed section is reached, and the approach move is used.
Optimise Link Moves - Check to allow the cycle to minimise any retract and feed moves between profiles wherever possible. The behaviour is effected by the Stay at Depth option. When Stay at Depth is NOT checked the tool will retract to the clearance plane, move in XY, then rapid back down to a Safe Distance above the previously machined level before feeding to the cutting depth. When Stay at Depth is checked the cycle determines the retract height by finding the height at which the tool can move freely to the next position. The cycle then adds the Cut Increment and the Safe Distance to this retract height for added safety. If the cycle cannot find an optimal path to the next position, the tool will retract to the Clearance plane.
Minimum/Maximum Height - When setting a minimum or maximum height, the toolpath must first be projected onto the surface(s). At the Minimum height, toolpaths that fall outside the given range will be flattened out at that level. Sections of the toolpath that are above the maximum height will be removed, and the ends linked with a retract link move.
Note that the approach move will be limited to Plunge, as the projection has already occurred and a ramp move cannot be de-gouged.