Helical Contour

A helical contour follows a closed path while spiralling continuously downward, instead of cutting at one depth, lifting, and stepping back down. Engagement stays even and entry is gradual, which is gentler on the tool and the workpiece — particularly in deep cuts or hard material. It accepts the same cut-side and tab settings as the regular Contour operation.

Helical descent

The tool drops by one depth-of-cut for every full revolution around the path, working from the start depth down toward the end depth. The last revolution is run at the end depth as a clean finishing pass; an optional spring pass runs once more at the same depth to shave off any spring-back.

Depth-of-cut, start depth, end depth, and the finish/spring pass flags all come from the active tool preset, so the operation usually just needs the cut side and any tabs configured per project.

Cut side

Outside — tool centre runs outside the path. Use when cutting a part out of stock.
Inside — tool centre runs inside the path. Use for cutting pockets and openings to size.
On Line — tool centre follows the path exactly, no offset.

Settings

Setting	Description
Contour Side	Outside, Inside, or On Line.
Contour Offset	Extra offset from the path, in mm. Stacks on top of the cut-side offset.
Tabs	Hold-down tab configuration (off, automatic, or manual placement).

Feed rate, plunge rate, spindle speed, and the depth schedule come from the assigned tool preset.

Tool requirement

Any rotary cutter (flat, ball, V-bit, tapered, surfacing). Laser tools won't appear in the selector.

When to use