Drill-bank toolpath

Drill banks (gang drills) are a collection of drills, attached to the moving head of a router. They are primarily used by cabinetmakers to drill a large number of holes simultaneously. Use the drill bank toolpath to drill at the centre of each vector in a selection of vector artwork, typically circular.

You can configure any type of drill-bank pattern such as L, + or T shapes containing any number of drills to match the drill bank on your machine. ArtCAM considers the selected geometry and applies a drill bank toolpath for all X and Y axis holes containing a 32 mm (1.26") pitch (standard pitch value for most machines).

Before you create a drill-bank toolpath, select the vector artwork that represents the layout of the holes you want to drill. For example, in the following diagram, a 5 mm (0.197") circle, the equivalent to the drill diameter, is drawn. The circle is then block copied into 5 columns and rows with an X and Y offset of 32 mm (1.26"). This offset is equivalent to the standard European drill-bank pitch.

Click the Create Drill Bank Toolpath button on the Toolpaths panel to display the Drill Banks panel.

After you have calculated the toolpath, you can simulate it.

See also