Toolpath strategies
CAM turns a finished model into the motions a machine follows to cut it. HelioCad offers the standard strategies — facing, pocketing, contouring, drilling, and adaptive clearing — each suited to a different stage of removing material from stock to final part.
Roughing strategies remove material fast; finishing strategies leave the surface and dimensions you actually want. A typical job chains several strategies together.
- Facing — flatten the top of the stock to a clean reference.
- Adaptive clearing — high-efficiency roughing that keeps the tool engaged.
- Contour and pocket — finish walls and floors to size.
- Drilling — canned cycles for holes.
Tool library
Toolpaths are computed against real tools. The tool library holds the end mills, drills, and other cutters you use, each with its geometry and cutting parameters, so the toolpath and simulation reflect the actual tool in the spindle.
Keeping the library accurate is what makes generated feeds, speeds, and clearances trustworthy.
Feeds and speeds
Feeds and speeds set how fast the tool spins and how fast it moves through the material. The right values depend on the tool, the material, and the operation — too aggressive and you break tools or burn the surface; too timid and you waste time and rub the edge dull.
HelioCad helps you dial in feeds and speeds per tool and material so each operation runs in a safe, efficient window.
Tip: When in doubt on a new material, start conservative and increase feed once you have confirmed chip formation and finish on a test cut.
Post-processors
A post-processor translates the neutral toolpath into the specific G-code dialect your controller understands. Different controllers expect different syntax, and the post is what bridges the gap so the program runs on your machine.
HelioCad ships posts for common controllers, and the roadmap includes a custom post-processor builder for tuning output to a specific machine.
Simulating the cut
Before you cut metal, simulate it. Stock simulation runs the toolpath against a virtual block of material and shows the part emerging, so you can catch gouges, collisions, and missed regions on screen instead of on the machine.
Verifying in simulation is the cheapest insurance in the whole CAM workflow.
G-code export
When the toolpath is verified, export the G-code through your chosen post-processor and send it to the machine. The output is standard, controller-ready code — the same program the simulation validated.
Because the whole chain lives in one place, a change to the model can be reflected in a fresh, re-verified program without leaving HelioCad.
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