Fabrication Analysis - Board-Drill Checks

Board-Drill is a read-only action intended to find potential manufacturability defects in drill and compensated rout layers. It generates measurements between drills and compensated rout paths piercing the same circuit layer. Measurements are taken between drills, from drills to rout features, but not between rout features. The Board-Drill action extends the functions available in the Drill Checks action.

The system uses a dynamic algorithm that adapts to user-selection and provides maximum performance. It assumes that all features on a rout layer are rout features, even though some features may have non-rout attributes. However, with drill layers, measurements are performed in accordance with assigned feature attributes.

The rout paths used in this section are compensated. Measurements are made from edge of hole to edge of compensated rout feature. Measurement are made between drills and routs that pierce the same circuit layer.

This section provides a description of each of the pairs of feature measurements in the Board-Drill-Check action screen. The sequence of the listing starts with Row #1 and ends in Row #3, with the measurement made between a feature selected in the left-hand column (First El.) and a feature in the right-hand column (Second Element).

When measurements are made between drill features, they can be made between features on the same layer (when Single is activated) or on different layers (when Cross is activated). When measurements are made between drill features and rout features they are, of necessity, made on different layers (drill and rout).

In all categories, the maximum distance reported is the highest value in the green range of the relevant category. If, for example, red = 4, yellow = 8, and green = 12, the maximum in this range is 12. This means that vias that are further apart than 12 mils will not be reported.

For an explanation of how to run this analysis, see “Performing DFM Analysis”.