Why is my Texture toolpath cutting into my text and borders, and how do I texture inside a pocket?

The two settings that make textures play nicely in signs

1. Texturing inside a pocket: Start Depth = pocket depth

Texturing a pocketed background (the classic raised-letter sign)? The Texture toolpath needs to know the floor has already been cut: set Start Depth = the pocket's depth (for example, 0.125"). Forget this and the texture calculates from the original surface, giving wrong depths and possible air-cutting. This is the same rule as all in-pocket work (see the Start Depth entries).

2. Texture eating into text/borders: Boundary Vector Offset (the "halo" fix)

When you select the background vectors (between border and lettering) and texture them, the scallops can run right up to, and visibly chew into, the letter edges and border walls, because the ball nose cuts to the vector line itself. The fix is the Boundary Vector Offset field in the Texture form. Enter a positive distance and the texturing is held back from the selected boundary by that amount, leaving a clean "halo" around letters and borders.

Sizing the offset: the official documentation says that when texturing in a recess you should enter a value up to the radius of the tool, to avoid damaging the walls. The official demo video uses 0.07" for a 1/8" ball nose (the radius is 0.0625"). For a 1/4" ball nose, the radius is 0.125", so try a value up to about 0.125".

Worth knowing in the same form

• Save and Load: dialed in a texture you love? Save stores the settings as a preset and Load recalls them, so you do not have to screenshot settings. (This is how texture preset libraries work; see the preset entries, which are starting points to test on scrap.)
• Edit the tool inside the toolpath to tweak feeds for this texture only. It changes the toolpath's copy, not your tool database entry.
• Ramp at start and end (vector-pattern mode only) cuts each contour with a fluting move instead of a regular profile move. The result can look very different, so preview both.
• Project toolpath onto 3D model (available when a 3D model exists) drapes the texture over a 3D surface's contours, for textured domes or waved panels (see the project-onto-3D entry).
• No vectors selected: the texture covers the whole job, which is handy for full-sheet effects and surprising if accidental.

Pro tips

• Preview at high simulation quality before cutting. Texture toolpaths are exactly where the preview earns its keep, and tweak, recalculate and preview is the intended workflow.
• For starting-point settings (wood grain, sandblasted, geometric fields), see the three Texture preset entries and the master Texture parameter guide.