controlling cutting direction ( climb or conventional )

[J-Dunn]

Hi,

FreeCAD has recently adopted an OCL solution for 3D surface paths. This seems to work very well in terms of geometry but produces alternating cutting directions, which often leads to poor machining finish. The choice of climb or conventional cutting direction is a basic machining requirement. It is not usual to mix the two or be ambivalent about the choice of cutting direction.

Here is an example of a cut using an 8mm ball-end tool to cut a cylindrical form in Al alloy. The difference in finish is quite dramatic. If the job could be done with consistent cutting direction it would have a given a really nice finish.

I was told the paths were created by OCL and the issue needed to be raised here. Is this something which can be controlled by the caller by better exploiting OCL API or is this an issue which requires changes in OCL itself?

Thanks for any comments on where/how this needs to addressed. Best regards.

[luzpaz]

soft bump

[vespakoen]

This should be handled upstream, I even think the latest FreeCAD version even has support for this now.