Sunstone Printed Circuit Board Forum

Reviewing PCB123 DRC warning - Warning: Non-plated hole too large. Reduce to 150 mils or order Full Feature The warning above can be confusing so I want to provide some explanation. Through our prototype services we cannot guarantee any hole designed as non-plated will be completely free of plating. The reason we cannot guarantee non-plated holes through our prototype services is because all holes are drilled very early in the manufacturing process. The non-plated holes and other areas of the board are then covered with thin resist coating. If the hole is small the resist is more likely to hold up through the manufacturing process resulting in the desired non-plated holes. With holes larger than 150 mils the resist may break or tear during manufacturing allowing some plating in the hole barrel. The hole will still be unconnected but may have metal in the barrel. If you order directly through our Full Feature or Custom Quote service we do offer and can guarantee holes designed as non-plated will be so.