G-Code Lathe Project - The Seal Cap Part 7

Part Seven - Peck Drilling with G83

The Ø10 through hole in the Seal Cap starts life as an Ø8.5 pilot, cut deeper than the part itself so the part off tool has room to finish its cut without landing on a solid cone. Fifty plus millimetres of depth is well beyond what a plain full length plunge can evacuate cleanly, so this lesson introduces the G83 peck drilling cycle and the form of it that gives the most control.

Rather than running the cycle with a fixed peck depth, this lesson uses the parameters that step the behaviour down as the hole deepens: the size of the first cut, the amount each following peck is reduced, and a floor underneath which pecks never shrink further. The drill therefore takes a bold cut high in the hole where swarf falls freely, and backs off gracefully as the hole climbs deep and the chips have further to travel. Set against that, a dwell at the final depth and the cycle ends with the drill clear of the work.

The cycle line gets written out parameter by parameter, then the surrounding blocks: the safety line, the tool call and offset, the rapid position above the spot, the cycle itself, and a clean return that parks the tool home. As always in these lessons, check the exact parameter letters against your control's manual, because spelling changes between versions of the cycle.

Download the full G-Code handout for this lesson, along with the complete Seal Cap program, here

This free lesson series follows the Seal Cap build from first sketch to finished part and is a taster of what you will learn in the 4-Course G-Code Bundle.