Beginners Question - milling procedures

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of building my own CNC rig following many hints and tips
from the pages discussed here.

I wish to use AutoCAD to design my parts.
Then run a small milling machine similar to the sherline to make small model
parts.
I am already an AutoCAD expert in 2 and 3 D.

I have experimented with Master 5 and Kcam.

The both seem excellent packages and can both convert my AutoCAD R14
drawings to Gcode without any problems.


My question relates to the process of how you use the generated Gcode. :-

Do you have to edit the Gcode manually to allow for cutter widths and edges
etc ?


As the milling cutter has a width, do you always have to modify the G-code
to allow for the cutter width, or is there some way of telling the software
to allow for it in the conversion.

Or is there a software package that will load the drawing , then allow you
to describe the tool path so it can allow for the edge and cutter width. ?

I hope this is clear.


Thanks for your help , this is my only missing link to the process.

Regards

Mark Taft