Path Drilling

Description
The Drilling command generates a drilling Operation in the Job.

How to use

 * Click the icon, or  →   from the top menu.
 * Choose a Tool controller from the pop-up selection dialogue window and confirm by pressing OK.
 * The holes available for processing with that Tool diameter will populate the list in the Base Geometry tab. Confirm that the list matches the holes that are intended for processing, and adjust add, enable, or disable, as necessary.  Holes can be added by selecting the wall faces of the Holes.
 * Ensure the Depths, Final Depth is correct, and adjust if not.
 * Ensure the Heights, Safe and Clearance Heights are correct, and adjust if not.
 * In the Operation tab:
 * specify the Retract Height
 * enable and adjust the following as needed
 * Peck, and set the Peck Depth
 * Dwell, and set the Dwell time(period) in seconds
 * Use Tip Length
 * Click to generate the drilling path(s)

Usage Notes

 * When using edges for Base Geometry, always select the bottom edge of the hole.
 * Always verify the tool chosen is the correct diameter for the hole(s) selected.
 * Peck disabled generates (G81 canned drill cycles). Peck enabled generates (G83 canned drill cycles).
 * Dwell enabled is currently unsupported, but is intended to generate (G82 canned drill cycles).

Properties
 Note : Not all of these Properties are available in the Task Window Editor. Some are only accessible in the Data tab of the Properties View panel for this Operation.

Base
Note: It is suggested that you do not edit the Placement property of path operations. Rather, move or rotate the Path Job model as needed.


 * : Overall placement[position and rotation] of the object - with respect to the origin (or origin of parent object container)
 * : Angle in degrees applied to rotation of the object around Axis property value
 * : Axis(one or multiple) around which to rotate the object, set in sub-properties: x, y, z
 * : x axis value
 * : y axis value
 * : z axis value
 * : Position of the object, set in sub-properties: x, y, z - with respect to the origin (or origin of parent object container)
 * : x distance value
 * : y distance value
 * : z distance value
 * : User-provided name of the object (UTF-8)
 * : List of disabled features

Depth

 * : The height needed to clear clamps and obstructions
 * : Final Depth of Tool- lowest value in Z
 * : The height above which Rapid motions are allowed. (Rapid safety height between locations)
 * : Starting depth of Tool - first cut depth in Z

Drill

 * : Calculate the tip length and subtract from final depth
 * : Enable dwell
 * : The time to dwell between peck cycles
 * : Incremental Drill depth before retracting to clear chips
 * : Enable pecking
 * : The height where feed starts and height during retract tool when path is finished
 * : Controls how tool retracts Default=G98

Path

 * : make False, to prevent operation from generating code
 * : An optional comment for this Operation
 * : User assigned label
 * : Defines the Tool controller used in the Operation

Rotation (when available)

 * : Automatically attempt Inverse Angle if initial rotation is incorrect.
 * : Visually orient B(y) rotations to model (error in FreeCAD rendering).
 * : Enable rotation to gain access to holes not normal to Z axis.
 * : Inverse the angle of the rotation.   Example: change a rotation from -22.5 to 22.5 degrees.
 * : Reverse orientation of Operation by 180 degrees.

Tasks Window Editor Layout
Descriptions for the settings are provided in the Properties list above. This section is simply a layout map of the settings in the window editor for the Operation.

Base Geometry

 * Add: adds selected element(s) which should be the base(s) for the path(s)
 * Delete: delete the selected item(s) in the Base Geometry list
 * Clear: clear all items in the Base Geometry list

Base Location

 * Add: add an (X,Y) coordinate location to the current drilling operation.
 * Remove: remove the selected location item(s) from the Base Location list
 * Edit: edit the selected location item

Scripting
FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

Example: