Fusion 360 CAM 2D/2.5D Milling Operations

Create 2D toolpath operations via tools/fusion-cam-2d. All dimensions are mm. Output is JSON.

Orient yourself first

Before creating operations, make sure a setup exists:

tools/fusion-cam-setup list                  # check for existing setups
tools/fusion-cam-setup operations            # see current operations
tools/fusion-cam-setup tools                 # available cutting tools

If no setup exists, create one first with tools/fusion-cam-setup create.

Operations at a glance

Operation	Strategy ID	Best for
contour	contour2d	Profile cuts, outside/inside edges
pocket	pocket2d	Clearing enclosed areas
adaptive	adaptive2d	Aggressive clearing (constant engagement)
face	face	Flattening top surface
drill	drill	Holes (standard, peck, deep peck)
bore	bore	Precision hole finishing
engrave	engrave	Following curves at shallow depth
trace	trace	V-bit cuts, miter joints (multi-depth)
slot	slot	Slot milling
chamfer	chamfer2d	Edge deburring / chamfering
miter-clearing	(multi-contour)	Terraced roughing for miter cuts

Contour (profile cutting)

The most common operation — follows the outside or inside edges of a part.

# Basic profile cut
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Profile Cut" --depth 19

# With tabs to hold parts
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Cutout" --depth 19 --tabs --tab-height 3 --tab-width 5

# With specific tool
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Finish Pass" --depth 19 --tool-number 3

# With stepdown and climb cutting
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Heavy Cut" --depth 25 --stepdown 5 --compensation left

# Advanced contour with tool diameter / V-bit angle control
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour-advanced --name "V-Cut" --depth 8 --tool-diameter 25 --tool-angle 90

Pocket (area clearance)

Clears material from enclosed areas. Uses a back-and-forth raster pattern.

# Basic pocket
tools/fusion-cam-2d pocket --name "Dado" --depth 10

# With stepover control
tools/fusion-cam-2d pocket --name "Wide Pocket" --depth 10 --stepover 3

# Leave stock for finish pass
tools/fusion-cam-2d pocket --name "Rough Pocket" --depth 10 --stock-to-leave 0.5

Adaptive clearing (constant engagement)

Fusion's killer 2D strategy — maintains constant tool engagement for faster, safer cutting. Better tool life and surface finish than pocket.

# Basic adaptive clearing
tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Rough" --depth 19 --stepdown 4

# With optimal load (radial engagement)
tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Aggressive Rough" --depth 19 --optimal-load 3

# Bi-directional for faster clearing
tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Fast Clear" --depth 19 --optimal-load 3 --both-ways

Facing

Flattens the top surface of stock. Run this first if your stock isn't perfectly flat.

tools/fusion-cam-2d face --name "Face Top" --stepover 15
tools/fusion-cam-2d face --name "Face Top" --depth 1 --stepover 10

Drilling

Standard drilling cycles with peck and dwell support.

# Basic drill
tools/fusion-cam-2d drill --name "3mm Holes" --depth 20 --tool-number 5

# Peck drilling (chip breaking — for deep holes)
tools/fusion-cam-2d drill --name "Deep Holes" --depth 30 --peck-depth 5 --cycle peck

# Deep peck drilling (full retract between pecks)
tools/fusion-cam-2d drill --name "Very Deep" --depth 50 --peck-depth 5 --cycle deep_peck

# With dwell at bottom
tools/fusion-cam-2d drill --name "Precision" --depth 15 --dwell 0.5

Drill cycles

Cycle	Description
drill	Standard drilling (plunge to depth)
peck	Chip breaking (short retract between pecks)
deep_peck	Deep drilling (full retract between pecks)
tap	Tapping cycle
bore	Boring cycle

Bore

Precision hole finishing for already-drilled holes.

tools/fusion-cam-2d bore --name "Finish Bore" --depth 15 --diameter 10

Engrave

Follows sketch curves at a shallow depth. Great for text, logos, decorative lines.

tools/fusion-cam-2d engrave --name "Logo" --depth 0.5
tools/fusion-cam-2d engrave --name "Text" --depth 0.3 --tolerance 0.005

Trace (V-bit cuts)

Follows sketch curves with depth control and multi-pass support. Ideal for V-bit miter joints and decorative V-carving.

# Basic trace with V-bit
tools/fusion-cam-2d trace --name "V-Groove" --sketch GrooveLines --depth 5

# Multi-depth for heavy cuts
tools/fusion-cam-2d trace --name "Miter Cut" --sketch MiterLines --depth 8 --stepdown 2

# With specific number of passes
tools/fusion-cam-2d trace --name "Slow Miter" --sketch MiterLines --depth 8 --passes 4

# With tool from library
tools/fusion-cam-2d trace --name "V-Miter" --sketch MiterLines --depth 8 --tool-number 2

Slot milling

Dedicated slot strategy — better chip evacuation than pocket for narrow features.

tools/fusion-cam-2d slot --name "T-Slot" --depth 12 --stepdown 4

2D Chamfer

Edge deburring — follows edges with an angled tool to create chamfers.

tools/fusion-cam-2d chamfer --name "Edge Break" --chamfer-width 1
tools/fusion-cam-2d chamfer --name "Chamfer" --chamfer-width 2 --tip-offset 0.5

Miter clearing (terraced roughing)

Creates multiple contour operations at progressive depths for V-bit miter joint preparation. Each terrace is offset inward based on the miter angle.

# Standard 45° miter clearing (4 terraces)
tools/fusion-cam-2d miter-clearing --depth 18 --steps 4 --tool-diameter 6

# Custom angle and finish stock
tools/fusion-cam-2d miter-clearing --depth 12 --steps 3 --miter-angle 30 --stock-for-finish 0.5

# Fine terraces with small stepdown
tools/fusion-cam-2d miter-clearing --depth 18 --steps 6 --stepdown 2

Common parameters (all operations)

These flags work on most operations:

--setup "Setup Name"         # target setup (defaults to last)
--name "Operation Name"      # operation display name
--depth 19                   # cut depth in mm
--stepdown 4                 # max depth per pass
--stock-to-leave 0.5         # radial stock for finish
--floor-stock 0.2            # floor stock for finish
--compensation left          # left (climb) / right (conventional) / center / off
--boundary silhouette        # auto-detect geometry
--tool-number 3              # tool from library by number
--tool-type "flat end mill"  # find tool by type
--ramp helix                 # entry strategy: helix / plunge / ramp / profile
--tabs                       # enable holding tabs
--tab-height 3               # tab height in mm
--tab-width 5                # tab width in mm
--tab-count 4                # number of tabs
--clearance-height 30        # clearance from stock top
--retract-height 10          # retract from stock top
--feed-height 5              # feed engage from stock top

Operation management

# Edit an existing operation
tools/fusion-cam-2d edit --operation "2D Contour" --depth 20 --stock-to-leave 0.5

# Edit raw parameters
tools/fusion-cam-2d edit --operation "2D Contour" --params bottomHeight_offset="-20 mm"

# Read current values of specific parameters
tools/fusion-cam-2d read-params --operation "2D Contour" --params bottomHeight_offset stockToLeave maximumStepdown

# Duplicate an operation with all settings
tools/fusion-cam-2d duplicate --operation "2D Contour" --new-name "Final Profile"
tools/fusion-cam-2d duplicate --operation "2D Contour"   # keeps auto-generated name

# Rename
tools/fusion-cam-2d edit --operation "2D Contour" --new-name "Final Profile"

# Suppress / unsuppress (skip without deleting)
tools/fusion-cam-2d suppress --operation "Rough Pass"
tools/fusion-cam-2d unsuppress --operation "Rough Pass"

# Reorder in the setup
tools/fusion-cam-2d reorder --operation "Face" --direction up

# Delete
tools/fusion-cam-2d delete --operation "Old Pocket"

Decision guide

I want to...	Command
Cut out a part	contour --depth D --tabs
Clear a pocket	pocket --depth D --stepover S or adaptive --depth D
Flatten the top	face --stepover S
Drill holes	drill --depth D --tool-number N
Engrave text/logo	engrave --depth 0.5
V-bit miter cut	trace --sketch S --depth D --stepdown S
Prep for V-bit	miter-clearing --depth D --steps N
Break edges	chamfer --chamfer-width W
Heavy roughing	adaptive --depth D --optimal-load L --stepdown S
Edit a parameter	edit --operation O --depth D
Skip an operation	suppress --operation O

Common patterns

Profile cut with tabs

tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Rough" --depth 19 --stepdown 4 --stock-to-leave 1
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Finish Profile" --depth 19 --tabs --tab-height 3

Pocket with roughing + finishing

tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Rough Pocket" --depth 10 --stock-to-leave 0.5
tools/fusion-cam-2d pocket --name "Finish Pocket" --depth 10 --stepover 1

V-bit miter workflow

tools/fusion-cam-2d miter-clearing --depth 18 --steps 4 --tool-diameter 6
tools/fusion-cam-2d trace --name "V-Miter Finish" --sketch MiterLines --depth 18 --stepdown 3 --tool-number 2

Face → rough → finish → cutout

tools/fusion-cam-2d face --name "Face" --stepover 15
tools/fusion-cam-2d adaptive --name "Rough" --depth 19 --stepdown 4 --stock-to-leave 1
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Finish Walls" --depth 19 --stock-to-leave 0
tools/fusion-cam-2d contour --name "Cutout" --depth 20 --tabs --tab-height 3

Recommended workflow

Duplicate-and-edit pattern

Instead of creating operations from scratch, duplicate an existing one:

tools/fusion-cam-2d duplicate --operation "2D Contour" --new-name "Final Profile"
tools/fusion-cam-2d edit --operation "Final Profile" --stock-to-leave 0

This preserves tool, boundary, and heights from the source.

Key parameter names

What you want	Fusion parameter name	Example expression
Depth (bottom height)	bottomHeight_offset	-19 mm
Stock to leave	stockToLeave	0.5 mm
Floor stock	stockToLeaveFloor	0.2 mm
Boundary mode	machiningBoundary	'silhouette'
Stepdown	maximumStepdown	3 mm
Multiple depths	useMultipleDepths	true
Tab height	tabHeight	3 mm
Compensation	sidewaysCompensation	'left (climb)'

Common mistakes

• No setup exists — create one with tools/fusion-cam-setup create first
• Operations show no geometry — run tools/fusion-cam-setup set-model or silhouette
• Forgot to generate — after creating operations, run tools/fusion-cam-setup generate
• Tabs on pocket — tabs only work on contour operations (profile cuts)
• Adaptive vs pocket — use adaptive for heavy roughing (constant engagement = less tool stress), pocket for lighter finishing
• Depth is stock-relative — depth 19 means 19mm from the stock top face, not from WCS origin
• Setting depth with negative values — pass positive depth values, the handler negates automatically