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Differentiate between plated and non-plated holes?

Differentiate between plated and non-plated holes?

Hi,
How do I differentiate between PTHs and non-PTHs?  I understand there is a .drl syntax that specifies "P" or "NP" for holes in the drill file.  How do I generate a .drl file with this syntax?
thanks,
Doug

Great Question. The NC drill file (*.drl) doesn't contain information whether the drill holes will be plated or not, that information would be in the drill report file (*.rpt) which is created when exporting your drill files.  The report file contains the number of drill hits, drill size, and whether the drill will be plated or non-plated.

Note: To define whether a drill hole will be plated or non-plated using FAB 3000, you may load all data into FAB 3000 and then go to the Drill Tools Table... (menu:  Tables | NC Tools Table..) and un-check the check box "Plated" for any drill holes that are non-plated. This is very important because advanced features like DFM and Netlist extraction will treat the drill holes differently if they are non-plated.

Note: When exporting your drill file (menu:  File | Export | Drill...) a drill report file (*.rpt) will be automatically created along with your drill file (*.drl). 

Note: Typically as a rule larger holes (over .125") can usually be assumed to be non-plated in most cases.




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