<p>This work qualitatively and quantitively evaluates the quality of micropillars machined along the curved edge of a P20 stainless steel mold insert using a vector-scanning method on a 5-axis industrial galvanometric laser system, in an effort to understand the limitations of the technology for the mass-production of hydrophobically-textured food and fluid product containers. The workflow of the laser machining process involves model-based toolpath programming prior to execution. The reliance on a computer aided design (CAD) of the workpiece for the laser trajectory programming was found to be the main limitation for machining along curved edges, in addition to the compounding effects from the gentle ablation and patching strategies. Considering these factors, the areas along the curved edge were negatively impacted by height variability and the formation of ellipsoidal structures, the latter also being affected by the inefficiency of the nanoparticle removal system in closely spaced pillar arrays. Finally, differences in pillar peak roughness were attributed to secondary laser interactions, producing laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) and loosely attached layers of nanoparticles that could be dislodged in transport or during the laser machining process with additional overscans. To progress the micro-scale laser texturing of 3D parts with curved edges for applications such as the production of hydrophobic food and fluid product containers, it will be necessary to develop more complex methods of ensuring laser focus on each point of the surface, such as metrology-based toolpath programming approaches.</p>