What is maximum corner radius in CAM Assist?
Maximum corner radius is an advanced geometry filtering setting in CAM Assist that defines the largest internal corner radius that the software will consider for machining with a finishing tool. In effect, it’s a threshold: any internal corner smaller (tighter) than this radius value might be ignored for finishing operations (and possibly flagged for further attention). It’s used to handle cases where tiny corner fillets or pockets would require very small tools – if the value is set, CAM Assist knows not to attempt finishing those with the current toolset (to avoid using an inappropriate tool or creating a poor result). For example, if you set maximum internal corner radius to 2 mm, and there’s a tiny fillet of 0.5 mm radius in a pocket, CAM Assist might leave that corner with stock (unfinished) because it’s below the threshold, essentially treating it as unmachinable with the given tools. You can think of it as telling the AI “don’t worry about finishing corners smaller than X – I’ll handle those another way or accept them.”
Why is maximum corner radius important in CAM Assist?
This prevents CAM Assist from trying to force a tool into a tight corner where it might gouge or spend excessive time for little benefit. It also is a hint about design intent; sometimes designers add fillets that are smaller than any tool you’d realistically use, so rather than CAM Assist attempt and fail or do something inefficient, this setting filters them out. It matters for controlling the level of detail: if you have an extremely fine corner but you’re okay with a small leftover radius, you set this such that CAM Assist doesn’t chase it.