Drilling page

Spot drill

Spot drill edge break — To create an edge break or chamfer using the spot drill tool, enter the radial distance of the edge break/chamfer. The spot drill creates an edge break/chamfer by cutting deeper than it normally would to create the spot drill operation alone. The default value 0.0050" or 0.1 mm results in a chamfer 0.0100" or 0.2 mm greater than the hole size. The angle of the chamfer depends on the spot drill tool used.

Attempt chamfer w/ spot — Enable this option to try to cut the chamfer during spot drilling. If no available tool can spot and chamfer without gouging the hole, a separate chamfer operation is created.

Spot drill diameter % — This percentage is used to select a spot drilling tool. A value of 100 specifies that the spotdrill should be the same diameter as the hole. A smaller value creates only a starter hole.

Use L/D compensation — This reduces speed and feed for holes that have a ratio of hole depth (L) to hole diameter (D) of greater than 2.5. The greater this ratio, the greater the speed/feed reduction.

Max. tap spindle RPM — This is the maximum speed (in RPM) for tapping.

Tap cycle affects how a tap operation is performed. Select from:

All cycles use the same Tap program format, but logical reserved words exist in XBUILD to distinguish the tap type.

Pilot diameter(s) — This enables and sets a list of drill sizes used to drill pilot holes. Enter a comma-separated list of drill diameters. For example, entering 0.5, 1, 1.5 in inches, causes holes to be pilot drilled with the half inch drill for final hole sizes up to an inch. A hole in excess of 1.5" is pilot-drilled with all three of the specified drills before being drilled to size. No list of drill sizes turns off pilot drilling for the feature, although this attribute can also be set up as a default for all parts.