Adaptive Clearing¶

In one sentence: Generate a trochoidal (curvilinear) clearing path that maintains constant tool engagement for high-efficiency milling.

Overview¶

Workbench: CAM
Menu: CAM → Adaptive
Command: CAM_Adaptive
Shortcut: none

Generates an adaptive (trochoidal) clearing toolpath that keeps the tool engagement angle constant throughout the cut. Also known as High-Efficiency Milling (HEM) or trochoidal milling, this significantly extends tool life and allows higher feed rates compared to conventional zigzag or offset pocketing.

Intuition¶

Conventional pocket clearing varies tool engagement from 0% (air moves) to 100% (full-width slot cut). The variable load stresses the tool — particularly at full engagement — and requires conservative feed rates.

Adaptive Clearing uses curved, looping paths that never exceed a set engagement angle. The tool always takes the same chip load, allowing much higher feed rates and longer tool life. The tradeoff is longer, more complex paths.

When to use it¶

Roughing pockets in tough materials (steel, stainless, titanium).
When tool life is critical or tool breakage is a concern.
When you have a fast spindle and want to maximise material removal rate.
High-speed machining (HSM) toolpaths.

When NOT to use it¶

Don't use it for finishing passes — adaptive clearing is a roughing strategy. Use Profile or Pocket Shape for finishing.
Don't use it for simple 2D profiles — the curved paths are unnecessary complexity for shallow, simple profiles.

Key parameters¶

Parameter	Description
Operation Type	Clearing (rough) or Profiling (finishing)
Step Over	Maximum radial engagement (% of tool diameter)
Lift Distance	How far the tool lifts between passes
Keep Tool Down Ratio	Ratio at which to keep the tool down vs lift
Force Inside-Out	Start cuts from the inside of the pocket

See Common Parameters for depth and height parameters.

Common mistakes and pitfalls¶

Computation time can be long

Adaptive Clearing computes complex paths and can take significantly longer to calculate than Pocket Shape. For large pockets, allow extra time.