A drill file gives the coordinates and tool size of every hole, usually in Excellon format, with separate files or attributes for plated and non-plated holes and for each blind or buried span. It drives the CNC drilling machines directly, so its units, number format and origin must match the Gerbers. A drill table on the fab drawing lists each size, its quantity and whether it is plated.
Drill file is in inches and the Gerbers are metric, the holes are landing all over the board, re-export both.
Also heard as
- Excellon
- NC drill
- drill data
- drill tape
Related terms
Gerber
Standard file format describing each board layer as a 2D image, sent to the fabricator to build the board.
PTH
Plated through-hole: a drilled hole whose walls are copper-plated to connect every layer it passes through.
Aspect ratio
Ratio of a board's thickness to the diameter of a drilled hole, which limits how well the hole can be plated.