Quick Turn Products, NC Drill, & Blowouts

[Terri Miller]

Question: “I received an email stating my Quick Turn PCB order was holding due to ‘blowouts’ in my NC Drill file. What does this mean and how can I resolve it?”

Answer: ‘Blowout’ is a condition caused by holes being placed to close together. By trying to drill the holes too close together, it causes the drill bits to break during the drilling process.

In order to keep costs at a minimum for our Quick Turn PCB Products, there is a minimum distance between holes. We require .010” from object edge to edge.

Holes with < 0.006” between holes (after standard drill sizes are added – per our preset tool sizes) may be deleted if tool size is < 0.070”.

For Slots (or holes placed very close together to form a slotted hole): Since slots are not offered through our Quick Turn products, you may wish to quote through our Full Feature Product line if the slots are required. However… for Quick Turn orders, upon your request, we can replace the slots that are present with as many holes as possible with adequate space between to prevent manufacturing issues. In the event the slot is too short to even have endpoints, we will place a single hole in the center, with the diameter equivalent to the smaller of the slot dimensions.

For more information, please review the PCB Drill Information page on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions – please reply here and your post will be reviewed!

Thank you!

Terri Miller