That flicker would have snapped a carbide endmill at 15,000 RPM.
He switched to the tab, selected "Solid shading," and hit play. The simulation ran at 2000 blocks per second—faster than real-time cutting. He saw the toolpath wind inward like a spiral staircase. Then at layer 42, right at the critical airfoil profile, the backplot showed a tiny, almost invisible flicker: a 0.001-inch loop-the-loop that shouldn’t exist.
His phone buzzed. The plant manager: “Tom, first light inspection is Monday. Fix it or scrap it.”
