The basic principles for selecting the work regimes for diamond drilling of nonmetallic materials are presented. The process of microcutting by a single diamond grain is examined, and relations between the components of the cutting force and the ratio of the rate of the main motion to the feed rate are obtained on the basis of known relationships. It is shown that adaptive control of the drilling nonmetallic materials is possible using two-circuit systems -one for feed-rate control and one for cutting-rate.The advancement of modern machine and instrument building is dependent on the development and adoption of progressive technological processes for working new materials. The wide range of requirements imposed on the output parameters of manufactured articles makes it necessary to use in industry materials which have high mechanical, physical, and chemical characteristics (durability, minimal friction, heat resistance, minimal CLTE, corrosion resistance, antimagnetism, and others). Brittle nonmetallic materials, such as glass, ceramic, and sitals (glassceramics), meet these requirements to a large extent. They are finding increasingly wider applications in machine building, electric technology, instrument building, chemical sectors of industry, aerospace and rocket technology, and nuclear power.One of the most labor-intensive operations in working nonmetallic materials is shaping openings. There are several methods for making openings in parts made of such materials. These methods all have a number of technological limitations, due to the limitations on the nominal size of the openings being made (electron-beam shaping, laser shaping), ecological hazards, and high tool wear (ultrasonic shaping), on applications and on the type of material being worked. Thus, diamond drilling is one of the most effective methods for working openings with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1000 mm and larger [1].Diamond drilling is identical to the process of cutting-in by grinding with a circular face, but this process is used under special, extreme, conditions of grinding because there is full contact between the cutting surface and the part being worked and because debris is not automatically removed from the work zone.It has been determined that the production rate of diamond drilling has an extremum corresponding to the drill operating in the self-sharpening regime. Thus, the optimal work regimes will correspond to the diamond drill operating in the self-sharpening regime, which will decrease the number of corrections made to the tool, stabilize the process of dispersing material, and yield the maximum possible production rate for prescribed properties of the material and tool.The diamond drilling process is characterized by a large number of factors and is often unstable because of changes occurring in the physical-mechanical properties of the material being drilled, tool wear, deformations in the machining system, and others. Consequently, the use of automatic control systems will optimize the conditions during the entire machini...