The Surface Tolerance affects how closely the toolpath approximates the surface to be machined. The tolerance value specifies an amount that the toolpath can deviate from the actual surface, either on the inside or the outside. The example illustrates a valid toolpath and displays the surface being machined and the surface tolerance region.
Because the toolpath can cut on the “inside” of the surface by the tolerance amount, specifying a surface stock greater than the tolerance amount ensures that the surface is not gouged by the toolpath.
The smaller the surface tolerance, the more closely the toolpath follows the actual surface. Coarser tolerances provide increased performance at the expense of processing time. It is recommended that coarser (larger) tolerance values be used on roughing operations and tighter (smaller) tolerance values be used on finishing operations to reduce processing time and the length of the generated code.
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