Peck drilling calculator finds the number of peck cycles and final peck depth needed to drill a hole to total depth using a fixed peck increment.
Work out how many pecks a deep hole will take and how deep the final peck runs, so the G83 cycle is not a guess.
Number of pecks = ceiling(total depth / peck increment). Final peck depth = total depth – (increment x (pecks – 1)).
How it works
Pecking retracts the drill at regular intervals to clear chips and break the long curl that deep holes produce. Most controls let you set a single increment and handle the retracts automatically, but knowing the peck count ahead of time helps estimate cycle time and catch a programming mistake before it runs.
FAQ
When does a hole need pecking at all? As a rule of thumb, anything deeper than about three to five times the drill diameter benefits from pecking to manage chip evacuation.
Related Guides
CNC Calculators · Drill Cycle Time Calculator · Hole Depth-to-Diameter Ratio Calculator
How it works
Pecking retracts the drill fully or partially out of the hole at intervals to clear chips and allow coolant to reach the cutting edge, which matters most in deeper holes or materials that produce long, stringy chips. The final peck is usually shorter than the others, since total depth rarely divides evenly by the chosen peck increment.
FAQ
What peck increment should I use? A common starting point is a peck depth of roughly 1 to 3 times drill diameter for moderate-depth holes, decreasing the increment as depth-to-diameter ratio increases into deep-hole territory.
Related Guides
CNC Calculators · Deep Hole Drilling Calculator · Drill RPM Calculator