Drill Tip Calculator

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Drill Point Length Calculator

Calculate the tip length for CNC programming and blind hole drilling.

Enter in inches or mm (unit agnostic).
Standard HSS is 118°, Carbide is often 135°.
Drill Tip Length (L):
Input Diameter:
Input Angle:
function calculateDrillTip() { // Get inputs by exact ID var diameterInput = document.getElementById('drillDiameter').value; var angleInput = document.getElementById('pointAngle').value; var resultBox = document.getElementById('dtcResults'); var resultLengthSpan = document.getElementById('resultLength'); var displayDiameterSpan = document.getElementById('displayDiameter'); var displayAngleSpan = document.getElementById('displayAngle'); // Parse floats var diameter = parseFloat(diameterInput); var angle = parseFloat(angleInput); // Validation logic if (isNaN(diameter) || diameter <= 0) { alert("Please enter a valid positive number for Drill Diameter."); return; } if (isNaN(angle) || angle = 180) { alert("Please enter a valid Point Angle between 1 and 179 degrees."); return; } // Calculation Logic // Formula: L = (D / 2) / tan(Angle / 2) // Javascript Math.tan uses Radians. Convert degrees to radians. var angleInRadians = (angle / 2) * (Math.PI / 180); var radius = diameter / 2; var tipLength = radius / Math.tan(angleInRadians); // Display Results // We use .toFixed(4) because machining usually requires high precision (4 decimal places for inches) resultLengthSpan.innerHTML = tipLength.toFixed(4); displayDiameterSpan.innerHTML = diameter; displayAngleSpan.innerHTML = angle + "°"; // Show result container resultBox.style.display = "block"; }

What is Drill Point Length?

The drill point length is the distance from the tip of the drill bit to the point where the full diameter of the drill begins. In CNC programming and machining, this value is critical when drilling blind holes (holes that do not go all the way through the material).

Because standard twist drills have a conical tip, the programmed depth ($Z$-depth) usually refers to the very tip of the drill. If you need a specific "full diameter" depth, you must drill deeper by an amount equal to the drill point length.

Drill Tip Formula

To calculate the length of the drill tip ($L$), you use the drill diameter ($D$) and the included point angle ($\theta$).

L = (D / 2) / tan(θ / 2)

Where:
D = Drill Diameter
θ = Point Angle (e.g., 118 or 135 degrees)
tan = Tangent function

Common Standard Drill Angles

  • 118°: The standard angle for General Purpose High-Speed Steel (HSS) drills. Suitable for soft steels, aluminum, and wood.
  • 135°: Common for Cobalt and Carbide drills. Used for harder materials like stainless steel to reduce walking and heat generation.
  • 90°: Typically used for Spot Drills and Chamfering tools.

Calculation Example

Let's say you are using a 0.500 inch diameter drill with a standard 118° point angle.

  1. Divide the diameter by 2: 0.500 / 2 = 0.250.
  2. Divide the angle by 2: 118 / 2 = 59°.
  3. Calculate the tangent of 59°: tan(59) ≈ 1.6643.
  4. Divide the radius by the tangent: 0.250 / 1.6643 ≈ 0.1502 inches.

Therefore, to achieve a full diameter depth of 1.0 inch, you would need to program a Z-depth of -1.1502 inches.

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