Managing Hole Sizes using the PCB Panel in Altium Designer

The Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel

Summary

The PCB panel allows you to browse the current PCB design using a range of filter modes to determine which object types or design elements are listed, highlighted or selected. The panel also has editing modes for specific object types or design elements that provide dedicated controls for editing procedures. You also can access the properties for any element listed in the panel.

In the PCB panel’s Hole Size Editor mode, the three main regions of the panel will change to reflect:

• The general filtering for hole types and their status, with a sub-section for the layer drill-pairs currently defined for the board.
• Hole objects arranged in groups as determined by size and shape.
• Individual primitives that constitute each group of hole objects (pads, vias and slots).

Panel Access

When the PCB Editor is active, click the Panels button at the bottom-right corner of the workspace then select PCB from the context menu. Alternatively, you can access the panel through the View » Panels » PCB command.

Once the PCB panel has been opened, select the Hole Size Editor option from the drop-down menu at the top of the PCB panel to access Hole Size Editor mode.

Using the Hole Size Editor

The panel sections show the cumulative filtering applied to hole types, styles and status.

The groups of holes can be collectively edited in the Unique Holes region of the panel by entering values in the appropriate column cell. You can enter a numeric value to change the current hole size for pads and vias in the Hole Size column.

Editing the hole size for the selected group of six matching hole styles.

You can also change the corresponding Hole Length, Hole Type, and Plated entries for holes where applicable.

Changing the hole type for the selected group of six matching hole styles.

Individual pad/via objects belonging to the selected holes group are listed in the lower Pad/Via section of the PCB panel. Right-click on an object in the list then select Properties (or double-click on the entry directly) to open the associated mode of the Properties panel for that primitive where its properties can be viewed and edited.

As you click on an entry in the PCB panel's lists, a cumulative filter will be applied based on that entry. The visual result of this (in the design editor window) is determined by the highlighting methods enabled (Mask/Dim/Normal, Select, and Zoom). Using the highlight methods, you can quickly highlight all holes of a particular status, style or size, or an individual hole primitive (pad/via) that exits in that filtered group. Multiple entries can be selected in each list section using standard Shift+Click and Ctrl+Click features.

Support for Back Drilling

The Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel can also be used to examine pads and vias that are targeted for back drilling. Back drill layer pairs are displayed in the Layer Pairs list denoted by the addition of the text [BD].

When a back drill hole size is selected, the objects have their Kind displayed as Backdrill. Use this ability to quickly locate and examine back drilled holes. Note that back drill settings cannot be edited in the panel.

Back Drill Report

To generate a report of all back drill events, right-click in the Unique Holes list then select Backdrill Report from the context menu.

The report details each back drill event, including the location, drill size and drill depth.