FreeCAD/FreeCAD

CAM: Start Depth documentation and tooltip do not match actual first Z layer behavior

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#26272 opened on Dec 18, 2025

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Good first issueMod: CAMStatus: Needs confirmationTopic: User Interface

Description

Problem description

I found an inconsistency in the documentation and in the tooltip for the “Start Depth” property. Both suggest that there will be a machining layer at the set position when the Final Depth is deeper than the Step Down.

However, the position of the first layer in Z is at (Start Depth − Step Down).

Workbench affected?

CAM

Steps to reproduce

NA

Expected behavior

Freecad CAM Doc:

Image

Actual behavior

Development version About Info (in Safe Mode)

OS: Arch Linux (KDE/plasma/wayland)
Architecture: x86_64
Version: 1.2.0dev.20251216 (Git shallow)
Build date: 2025/12/16 18:08:50
Build type: Release
Branch: (HEAD detached at 8fd81d4)
Hash: 8fd81d41094d90ebdb9b7e489c1e634884b7c4c1
Python 3.11.14, Qt 6.8.3, Coin 4.0.3, Vtk 9.3.1, boost 1_86, Eigen3 3.4.0, PySide 6.8.3
shiboken 6.8.3, xerces-c 3.3.0, IfcOpenShell 0.8.2, OCC 7.8.1
Locale: Portuguese/Brazil (pt_BR)
Navigation Style/Orbit Style/Rotation Mode: CAD/Turntable/Drag at cursor
Stylesheet/Theme/QtStyle: FreeCAD Dark.qss/FreeCAD Dark/
Logical DPI/Physical DPI/Pixel Ratio: 96/109.605/1
Installed mods: 
  * Assembly4-backup-before-zip-migration 0.60.2 (Disabled)
  * CamScripts
  * fasteners 0.5.43
  * Assembly4 0.60.3
  * fasteners-backup-before-zip-migration 0.5.42 (Disabled)

Last known good version (optional)

Contributor guide

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
documentation
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
1
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
None
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
85
Research direction
The issue clearly documents that the first Z layer is at (Start Depth Step Down) rather than Start Depth as stated in the documentation and tooltip. A contributor should locate the documentation source (likely in the FreeCAD wiki or within the repository's docs folder) and the tooltip string (probably in the CAM workbench's Python or C++ code). Compare with the actual Z layer calculation in the path generation code, e.g., in src/Mod/CAM/Path/... or similar. The decision should be made whether to fix the documentation to match the current behavior or adjust the behavior to match the documentation. The issue comments (8 total) may provide additional context; review them for maintainer guidance.