Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Manufacturing Drill File Information for PCBexpress PCBexpress Quickturn Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Drill File Information
Excellon Drill File
The drill file is also commonly referred to as an NC (numerically controlled) drill file in the industry. Excellon is the preferred term used with our Sunstone services. The Excellon drill file defines hole locations (X & Y coordinates) and tool numbers .Sunstone Circuits has removed drill size restrictions from our (PCBexpress) Quickturn service.
Sunstone PCBexpress
Quickturn now offers finished hole sizes from .008" to .250" *, with a tolerance of
+/- .005" . Drill files with holes less than .018" will be treated as “vias” with a tolerance of +0/- hole size.
This
wider set of drill sizes gives you closer through-hole tolerances than ever
before on your quickturn prototype boards.
No
drill file conversions, no restrictions, no worries.
*
Drill bit sizes range from .0135" to .257"
PCB Drill File Requirements:
- All PCB holes are plated through meaning, there will be solder in the PCB hole barrel.
- Must be Excellon format
- Must be ASCII text viewable. Please open with “Word” or “Notepad” to verify a numeric list of X & Y coordinates. There should be no strange graphical characters.
- PCB drill file should not contain “G01”, “G54”, or any reference to “D” codes when opened in a text editor. This indicates a Gerber format and is most likely a drill drawing rather than an NC file.
- Properly formatted PCB drill files have sizes separated with “T” codes that indicate tool numbers. (T01, T02, etc)
- A tool report with sizes is necessary if the sizes are not included in the drill file header.
- For Slots or Cutouts - Fab Drawing, NC Drill File, or Gerber file is necessary to define slot/cutout size/ & location.
Service Restrictions:
- All PCB holes are through hole from top to bottom layer of board.
- We cannot guarantee Non-Plated through holes will be non-plated, as all holes are drilled prior to plate for this service.
- All specified hole sizes < 0.018" will be treated as vias. The closest drill bit to the specified size in your file will be used, with a minimum size of 0.0135".
- No Blind or buried vias.
- Maximum 4 slots or cutouts for this service.
- Please make sure there is space between holes, we require .010" from object edge to edge. Holes with <= 0.006" between holes (after standard drill sizes are added) will be placed on hold until resolved. Sunstone reserves the right to modify the "perforation holes" (holes drilled to separate multipart designs) for best manufacturing efficiency and quality of end product.
- Please limit your total number of PCB holes per board design to no more than 50 per sq-inch.
- Sunstone cannot create the drill file from a gerber file, fabrication document or drawing. These documents will only be used for slot/cutout size and location.
ValueProto and PCB123 Preset Finish Drill Sizes - Imperial sizes in
inches (mils)
If you are ordering through the ValueProto or PCB123 services, your drill sizes
(contained in your file) in these ranges will be converted to our pre-set
finish hole sizes:
| Your Tool Sizes: |
Preset Finished Hole will be: |
Actual Bit Size Used to Drill Hole: |
Slot Width Available: |
Tolerance: | ** Minimum Copper Pad Dimensions: |
*** Minimum Copper Inner Layer Clearances: |
|
0.0000"- 0.0159" |
0.008" * | 0.0135" | N |
.006"/-.008" |
0.0250" |
0.0330" |
|
0.0160" - 0.0179" |
0.0160" |
0.0200" | N |
+0.002"/- 0.006" |
0.0310" |
0.0410" |
|
0.0180" - 0.0249" |
0.0200" |
0.0260" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0370" |
0.0450" |
|
0.0250" - 0.0289" |
0.0250" |
0.0310" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0420" |
0.0500" |
|
0.0290" - 0.0319" |
0.0290" |
0.0350" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0460" |
0.0540" |
|
0.0320" - 0.0349" |
0.0330" |
0.0390" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0500" |
0.0580" |
|
0.0350" - 0.0380" |
0.0360" |
0.0420" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0530" |
0.0610" |
|
0.0381" - 0.0410" |
0.0405" |
0.0465" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0575" |
0.0655" |
|
0.0411" - 0.0449" |
0.0432" |
0.0492" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0602" |
0.0682" |
|
0.0450" - 0.0519" |
0.0460" |
0.0520" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0630" |
0.0710" |
|
0.0520" - 0.0599" |
0.0535" |
0.0595" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0705" |
0.0785" |
|
0.0600" - 0.0659" |
0.0610" |
0.0670" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0780" |
0.0860" |
|
0.0660" - 0.0759" |
0.0670" |
0.0730" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0840" |
0.0920" |
|
0.0760" - 0.0839" |
0.0800" |
0.0860" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.0970" |
0.1050" |
|
0.0840" - 0.0899" |
0.0875" |
0.0935" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1045" |
0.1125" |
|
0.0900" - 0.0969" |
0.0935" |
0.0995" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1105" |
0.1185" |
|
0.0970" - 0.1059" |
0.1005" |
0.1065" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1175" |
0.1255" |
|
0.1060" - 0.1160" |
0.1100" |
0.1160" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1270" |
0.1350" |
|
0.1161" - 0.1329" |
0.1259" |
0.1319" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1429" |
0.1509" |
|
0.1330" - 0.1429" |
0.1410" |
0.1470" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1580" |
0.1660" |
|
0.1430" - 0.1529" |
0.1510" |
0.1570" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1680" |
0.1760" |
|
0.1530" - 0.1709" |
0.1670" |
0.1730" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.1840" |
0.1920" |
|
0.1710" - 0.2019" |
0.1930" |
0.1990" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.2100" |
0.2180" |
|
0.2020" - 0.2600" |
0.2510" |
0.02570" | Y |
+/- 0.004" |
0.2680" |
0.2760" |
| > 0.2600" | Cut Out/Slot | Routed | Y | +/- 0.010" |
* 0.008 Finish Hole Size only available on 4 - 6 layer board orders.
** Recommended minimum pad size guarantees through-hole electrical continuity.
*** Recommended minimum inner layer clearances prevent electrical shorts caused
from through-holes connecting directly to ground plane.