Common Problems

Drill File Problems

1. Missing Excellon Drill file
   NOTE: A Gerber drill drawing is NOT a substitute for NC drill files.
   
   
2. Missing Drill Tool List
   Required file is simply not there.
   
   
3. Bad Drill Format
   
Problems may be caused by the configuration of your CAD program. Some CAD programs have options for NC formats while others are hard coded. Here is a sample NC file.

CAD programs with optional NC settings should be configured as outlined in the table below.


Option	Recommended Setting
Format or Precission	2.4
Trailing Zero Suppression	ON
Parity	NONE
Data Type	ASCII
Include Pads and Vias	YES
Include Non Plated Holes	YES
Build Tool List from PCB File	YES
Embedded Tool List	YES

 
4. NO X/Y Locations in NC Drill File
   Occasionally an incorrect setting will create an NC drill file contains the NC Tool definitions and no X/Y locations - Open your NC file in a text edit program and check for X/Y locations following the "%".
   
   
5. Stale Data
   Be suspicious of drill data that is much older than the Gerber files. Keep an eye on file creation dates and times. Depending on the speed of the computer that generated the data the worst case is twenty minutes between the NC Drill data and the Gerber data. Always generate NC and Gerber file sets in one session.
   
   
6. Zero Byte Files
   Files that have no content are easy to spot with your directory management software. Also, be suspicious of file sizes under 1K and check them with a text edit program when they are under 1K in size.