Drill-Pair Manager

Modified by Jason Howie on Feb 13, 2015
Contents
Other Related Resources
Drill-Pair Properties (Dialog)
Layer Stack Manager (Dialog)

Parent page: PCB Dialogs

The Drill-Pair Manager dialog.

Summary

This dialog allows the designer to configure the required drill pairs for the board. Drill pairs must be configured when blind, buried, or build-up type vias are to be used, with a drill pair for each layer-pair that a via spans. It is the presence of drill pairs that lets the system know that blind and/or buried vias are in use. This ensures that when the fabrication output files are generated from the completed board, there are suitable drill files for the various drill jobs that must be performed to create the blind and/or buried vias.

Once the drill pairs have been defined, suitable blind, buried or thru-hole vias are automatically placed during routing, in accordance with the drill pair settings and the applicable Routing Via Style design rule.

Access

The dialog is accessed from the PCB Editor, by clicking the Drill Pairs button in the Layer Stack Manager dialog. The latter is accessed by clicking Home | Board | , from the main menus.

Options/Controls

  • Drill Pairs - the main region of the dialog lists all currently defined drill pairs. Each drill pairing consists of a Start Layer and a Stop Layer. There will always be at least one drill pair defined for a board, pairing the Top Layer with the Bottom Layer.
  • Add - click this button to manually add a new drill pair to the list. The Drill-Pair Properties dialog will appear, from where to determine the start and stop layers for the pairing.
  • Delete - click this button to delete the currently selected drill pair. A confirmation dialog will appear, click Yes to effect the removal.
The Top Layer - Bottom Layer drill pair cannot be deleted.
  • Drill Pair Properties - click this button to edit the currently selected drill pair. The Drill-Pair Properties dialog will appear, from where to modify the start and stop layers for the pairing as required.
The Top Layer - Bottom Layer drill pair cannot be edited.
  • Create Pairs From Layer Stack - click this button to remove the current drill pairs, and replace them with pairs created from the current layer stack. A confirmation dialog will appear, click Yes to effect the replacement.
  • Create Pairs From Used Vias - click this button to remove the current drill pairs, and replace them with pairs created based on the actual vias currently used in the design. A confirmation dialog will appear, click Yes to effect the replacement.
  • Menu - click this button to access a list of commands providing the same functionality as the buttons available in the dialog.
These same commands are also available on the right-click menu, accessed over the Drill Pairs list.

Notes

  1. Drill pairs must be defined to suit the layer stack-up style. This should be done in consultation with your board manufacturer to ensure that your design matches their fabrication technology.

 

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