TIME · DRILLING · TAPPING
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Machining time

Enter the diameter, the catalogue Vc and feed, the hole depth and how many holes there are: Toolhelix works out the travel including the drill point, the feed rate and the time per hole and in total. For taps you only need pitch, RPM and depth.

Drilling time

TIME PER HOLE—feed only
TOTAL TIME—for 1 hole
SPEED · n—RPM
FEED RATE · F—mm/min
TRAVEL—depth + point + approach

Travel = depth + drill point length (D/2 ÷ tan(angle/2)) + approach. Time = travel ÷ F. Rapids, tool changes and chip-clearing retracts are not counted: with peck drilling the real time is longer.

Tapping time

TIME PER HOLE—in and out
TOTAL TIME—for 1 hole
FEED RATE · F—pitch × RPM

F = pitch × RPM. Time = (depth + approach) ÷ F going in, plus the way out: with return ×2 the tap backs out at twice the speed. Tap speeds and cutting data are in the manufacturer's catalogue.

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Drilling time

Time is travel divided by feed rate. Travel is the hole depth plus the drill point length, D/2 ÷ tan(angle/2), plus the approach. Example with sample values, not recommendations: a Ø8.5 drill with a 140° point at 3,000 RPM and f 0.15 mm/rev gives F 450 mm/min; a 25 mm hole with 2 mm approach is 28.5 mm of travel, about 3.8 seconds.

Tapping time

A tap advances one pitch per revolution: F = pitch × RPM. The time is the travel in plus the way out, often at a higher speed. Example with sample values: M10 with 1.5 pitch at 500 RPM gives F 750 mm/min; 20 mm of thread plus 2 mm approach, in and out at the same speed, takes about 3.5 seconds.

What is not included

The calculation counts feed time only. Rapids, tool changes, peck retracts and loading time come on top: for a quote, the real time is always a little longer.

Where Vc and f come from

Always from the drill or tap manufacturer's catalogue, for that material. Toolhelix only does the maths: it does not suggest cutting data.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate drilling time?

Divide the travel by the feed rate in mm/min. Travel is the depth plus the drill point length and the approach; feed rate is RPM times feed per revolution. Rapids, tool changes and peck retracts come on top.

How long is the point of a twist drill?

It depends on the angle: about 0.3 times the diameter at 118°, about 0.18 times at 140°. For a Ø10 drill at 140° that is about 1.8 mm to add to the depth.

How do I calculate tapping time?

Feed rate is pitch times RPM. Time is the travel divided by the feed rate going in, plus the way out: if the tap backs out at twice the speed, the return takes half as long.

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