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Available · version 3

Offset

How to create inside and outside offsets from exact shapes and closed contours in Cadivari.

Updated August 20264 min readCAD tools
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Recommended test

Test exact primitives, freeform contours, and visible safety limits.

  1. Draw a 100 × 60 mm rectangle. Press O, hover one of its boundaries, and confirm the complete source highlights while the cursor snaps to the edge. Click the boundary.
  2. Move 5 mm toward the centre. Confirm the panel says Inside 5.000 mm and the preview measures 90 × 50 mm.
  3. Press Enter while editing the distance and confirm the dialog stays open with the exact preview.
  4. Choose Create offset. Confirm the original and new rectangle both remain editable.
  5. Offset a 20 mm radius circle 2 mm outside. The result should have a 22 mm radius.
  6. Draw or close a spline, then offset it outside. The preview should follow the complete curve.
  7. Create a closed contour from connected lines and arcs. Activate Offset and click any segment; Cadivari should select and offset the whole loop.
  8. Apply fillets to several corners, then start Offset. Switch Source shape between Base path and Finished contour; the preview should alternate between restored sharp corners and the applied fillet arcs.
  9. Offset the generated result a second time, or use it as a CAM contour source.
  10. Try an open, branched, or self-crossing path. Cadivari should explain why it cannot be offset.
  11. Try an inside value large enough to collapse a shape. Cadivari should explain the maximum and disable creation.
  12. Press Esc during another preview, then undo and redo a completed offset.

01 · SELECT AND PREVIEW

Create an offset

Choose Offset from the tool rail or press O. Hover a rectangle, circle, closed spline, mirrored spline, or one segment of a connected closed line/arc/spline contour. The complete resolved boundary highlights and the cursor snaps to its nearest edge, making the source clear before you click. Cadivari then changes between Inside and Outside as the pointer crosses the selected boundary.

If the connected contour contains associative fillets, the panel adds a Source shape choice. Finished contour is the default and follows the visible fillet arcs. Base path temporarily restores the sharp junctions that those fillets replaced, so both useful offset interpretations are available without deleting the fillets.

The moving preview uses an optimized display boundary so detailed fillets remain responsive. Creating the offset always recalculates it from the full-resolution source geometry; preview optimization does not reduce the accuracy of the stored result.

Click the canvas again or use Create offset to finish. The original is preserved and the new object appears separately in the Objects list. Rectangles and circles remain exact primitives; freeform results are stored as reusable closed boundary geometry.

02 · MILLIMETRES

Enter an exact distance

The Offset panel always reports millimetres. Choose Inside or Outside, enter a positive distance, and create the result. Direction is intentionally separate from the number so a negative-value convention is not required.

Collapse protection

An inside offset cannot cross the centre or collapse the remaining boundary. Invalid results are blocked. A deeply concave contour can legitimately separate into multiple closed boundaries; Cadivari preserves each valid result rather than joining it artificially.

REFERENCE

Controls

OActivate Offset
First clickSelect an exact shape or any segment of a supported closed contour
Source shapeUse the sharp Base path or the visible Finished contour when fillets are present
Pointer movePreview distance and Inside/Outside direction
Second canvas clickCreate a valid offset
EnterConfirm the typed distance and keep the preview open
Create offsetCommit the preview as a new object
EscCancel the preview
Ctrl + ZUndo the complete offset result

DESIGN RULE

CAD geometry is not cutter compensation

This tool creates an independent drawing boundary. It does not store a machining operation or cutter diameter. CAM contour and pocket operations calculate their own tool-centre geometry from the selected boundary, so a design offset and cutter compensation remain separate decisions.

CURRENT SCOPE

Boundaries and limits

  • Open paths must be closed before they can be offset
  • Branched and self-crossing paths are rejected instead of guessed
  • Base path reconstruction is available for associative 2D fillets; Finished contour preserves those visible fillet arcs
  • Generated freeform offsets are independent, not associative with later source edits
  • Join style is automatic: true straight-line corners stay sharp with guarded miters, while arc and spline contours remain smooth
  • Very acute corners are guarded against impractically long miter spikes; explicit miter, round, and bevel controls remain a future refinement
  • Individual open-curve parallel offsets remain a separate future workflow

Use Offset for drawing geometry. Use CAM contour placement for cutter-radius compensation.

Watch and try

Learn this step by step

Offset creates a new closed outline while preserving the original. An inward offset can define a recess; an outward offset can add a border. CAD offsets are separate from CAM cutter compensation.
Offset creates a new closed outline while preserving the original. An inward offset can define a recess; an outward offset can add a border. CAD offsets are separate from CAM cutter compensation.