Toolpathing

Toolpaths are the information that the milling machine uses to direct the drill bit through the material, they are the single most important thing in CNC milling.

Toolpaths operate as vectors, they have direction, magnitude and position in space. These translate directly into the direction and position of the milling bit in space. There are two types of toolpaths, 2D and 3D toolpaths.

• 2D toolpaths
• for cutting from 2D "sheet" material
• works only in the X and Y direction and is the equivalent of a cookie cutter operation
• machining 2D cuts is a much quicker process than machining 3d objects

• 3D toolpaths
• because the machine only works from the top down, it is very limited in the range of 3d forms it can fabricate
• work in the X, Y and Z direction and are for sculpting and excavating a material
• tedious process as each layer must be removed