Cutting Path Background and Selection
Background
When a Design is imported into WAM it is simply a set of curves. These curves are shown in white.
To cut your parts properly, WAZER needs to know which side of the curve to Cut. As a result, the
Cut Path needs to be specified as either Outside or Inside.
Once you have made a selection, a green Cut Path appears around or within the white part geometry. This green line indicates the actual path of the WAZER. You can use it to check if your Design will be Cut correctly.
In some instances where you want to cut directly on the Cut Path. You can specify this using the Centerline option. In this case, you will notice that the green Cut Path completely covers the white geometry.
Cutting Paths Comparison
Centerline
In essence, the difference between the "Outside", "Inside", and “Centerline“ cut path is relative to the enclosure of the shape formed by the desired cut shape.
As you can imagine, the "centerline" path means the nozzle stream straddles on the cut shape boundary. But since the stream is not infinitely small ( nearly 1mm in diameter you have overserved), it will chew through some material on the outside of the design line, some material on the inside.
This is “Centerline“ cutting path
Outside Cutting Path
If precision is your priority, you probably would like to see the parts you cut out are true to the design dimension. Then you may need to move the cut line slightly to the side where scrap material is.
For example, if you have a cut profile in the shape of a circle or a polygon, and you would like to have the cut profile true to the dimension, you will move the stream slightly towards the outside of the profile to leave room for the kerf.
This is the "Outside" cutting path.
Inside Cutting Path
On the other hand, if you are cutting a holder, or stencil and the left-over bit needs be true to the design dimension, then you may need to move the cut line slightly inwards.
For example, the holder is in the shape of a circle, you will move the stream slightly towards the center of the circle.
This is the "Inside" cutting path.
Offset
The "offset" is the distance between the center line of the kerf to the boundary of the design line. It is set to be 0.48mm / 0.018in as a default, because that is the radius of the nozzle width
However, as the nozzle degrades after extended use, the radius of the nozzle may increase, and that is when the offset needs to be adjusted.
In other cases, if you would like to push the nozzle stream further away from the design line, you can manually increase the offset figure
In the same principle, if you would like to move the nozzle stream closer to the design line, you may manually decrease the offset figure
Example
Outside Cutting Path
Let's take an airplane wing component for example.
If you choose the "outside" line, the cut lines are like this (green line is the cut line, and the white line is the design line)
If you zoom in, you will see the circle is cut from the inside, and the outer circumference is cut from the outside. You can imagine the stream is a very thick knife, and it is cutting along the green line.
This is because by choosing the "outside" cutting path, the WAM assumes you would like to keep everything in the "closure" as the result, and discard the left-over blanks.
This way, what you have designed will be cut true to size.
Be mindful, the "outside" cut path option, does not mean the internal circles will be cut from the outside.
Outside cutting path generate a true-to-size part.
Inside Cutting Path
If you choose the "inside" cut path, the WAM assumes you would like to keep the left-over blanks as a result, and discard what is in the middle.
An example will be the stencil, you discard the inside of the stencil, and keep the blank, so your subsequent paint job will be true to the side.
So the cutting path will be staying interior to the outer edge, and exterior to the inner edge.
Inside cutting path generates a true-to-size stencil