When generating drill file, first drill OK. Remaing drills use "Spot Drill" depth?

[mprowe]

Eagle Ver 9.6
PCB_GCODE ver 3.6.3
Repeatable: Yes.

Requesting drill only:

First hole is OK, subsequent holes use the "Spot Drill" depth. This is a snippet from drill file.

Workaround: Make the "Spot Drill" depth the same as "Drill Depth". And don't forget to return to correct value for "Spotting" while requesting Outlines.

Regards, M.

[deHarro]

Hi M.!
You might try the fix from Alexander Arkusha explained on my homepage.
The fix is described as second topic on this page, starting with
"A further improvement over the original version was suggested by Alexander Arkusha in the end of 2017."

Please keep an eye on the line numbers, perhaps you and I refer to different vesions of pcb-gcode.
But given the context, you will find the correct lines, where to change the code.

Harry

[mprowe]

Hi Harry,
I'm not sure that the two problems are the same?
Using ver-3.6.3 (and previously ver-3.6.2.4) if I select "Generate bottom outlines" AND "Spot drill holes" I found no problem with the spotted points that were made. As far as I could tell the points were cut to the correct depth (0.2mm in my settings) by the V-Engraver after the track outlines were cut. i.e. both tasks were in the *.etch gcode file.

My problem, is different. If I select "Generate bottom (or top) drill" ONLY. The drill file will drill the first hole correctly but the rest will only be to the depth specified in the "Spot drill holes depth" field.

Lastly, just to be sure, I made the amendments described on your web page. As far as I could tell with the limited testing, I could detect no difference in the gcode output with or without these amendments! Now, it is highly likely that I have not done them correctly but I have attached them below in the hope that you could check them for me.

Regards, M.
3files.zip

[deHarro]

Hi M.!
Your files seem been edited correctly to me.

As far as I remember, the problem addressed with Alexanders amendments, is, that if "spot drill" and "drill holes", respectively, are selected both, then the spot drills are executed with the depth defined for drilling the holes.

Whether these problems occur with two sided boards or only with one sided ones, I don't know. I didn't dig into it deeply.
I had those problems with one sided boards and the amendments of Alexander fixed the problem for me.

If your problem isn't solved with Alexanders amendments, then probably you found another problem in the code and we have to wait for Johns solution.

Harry

[mprowe]

"... and we have to wait for Johns solution."

Good idea.

Regards, M.

[JohnAtl]

@mprowe can you test the last version I released and let me know if the problem is still there?
I can't seem to reproduce it.
Also, if you could post your settings/*.h files, that would be helpful too.
Thanks!

[deHarro]

I found the problem and fixed it.

In file "gcode-defaults.h" the following lines (starting with line 106 in V3.7.0)

string DRILL_HOLE =       RAPID + MOVE_XY + EOL 
                          + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(SPOT_DRILL_DEPTH) + EOL 
                          + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(DEFAULT_Z_UP) + EOL;

have to replaced by this

string DRILL_HOLE =       RAPID + MOVE_XY + EOL 
                          + FEED + MOVE_Z + EOL    // corrects the error "all sucessive holes only spot drilled"                      
                          + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(DEFAULT_Z_UP) + EOL;

Actually only the second line is changed.
Have fun!

Harry

[JohnAtl]

Wow!Four years later. Thanks for the fix.I probably need to do a new release at some point. It would take a while to get back up to speed on everything, set up VMs to run Eagle, etc. Regards,JJOn Jul 30, 2026, at 8:07 AM, deHarro ***@***.***> wrote:deHarro left a comment (JohnAtl/pcbgcode#9) I found the problem and fixed it. In file "gcode-defaults.h" the following lines (starting with line 106 in V3.7.0) string DRILL_HOLE = RAPID + MOVE_XY + EOL + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(SPOT_DRILL_DEPTH) + EOL + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(DEFAULT_Z_UP) + EOL; have to replaced by this string DRILL_HOLE = RAPID + MOVE_XY + EOL + FEED + MOVE_Z + EOL // corrects the error "all sucessive holes only spot drilled" + FEED + "Z" + real_to_string(DEFAULT_Z_UP) + EOL; Actually only the second line is changed. Have fun! Harry —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you modified the open/close state.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[deHarro]

Yes, I was in a kind of flow... 😉

I f you really intend to make a new realease, then you perhaps first want to have a look at my fork.

I added some features, namely:

• I merged some corrections from me and others, explicetely cutting "never climbing" for all traces, "rounded corners" and "helical milling" of holes with varying diameters, all with the same cutter.
• New is the ability to generate milling code for the outline of the board including radius correction. See here. This works for PCBs of any shape, provided the milling bit used is thin enough (e.g., for narrow cuts). Holes in the PCB require a workaround: Set milling bit diameter to zero, causing the ULP to generate a DXF file for the milling layer that can be further processed using a suitable tool (e.g., Estlcam).
• I implemented a "clear pads" function. The ULP now generates code to remove the protective coating over the pads. To do this, the milling cutter or engraving bit traverses the entire pad area in a meandering pattern. See here.
• Fixed the error, that only the first of several holes in the file is drilled with the correct depth, whereas all following holes are only spot drilled. Now alle holed are drilled correctly with the given depth.
• When generating g-code for only one layer (TOP or BOTTOM), the files for TEXT and MILL are generated for the opposite layer as well.
  -> Fixed. Only the selected layer files will be generated.