Mounting Holes

• Mounting Holes
  Posted by nsh1233 on 15 Jul, 2014 05:27
• So my board requires 2 mounting holes(Refer to picture).
  How do i create the mounting holes in Altium Designer? Do i need to create a footprint for it?

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• #1 Reply
  Posted by free_electron on 15 Jul, 2014 05:36
• just place two free pads.
  
  if you want to make it nice : create a symbol for it.  i use a hole surrounded with 6 via's on a 60 degree grid to prevent stripping the plating from the screw hole . in the schematic i tie the construction to ground or shield ground depending on what they are used for.
  
• #2 Reply
  Posted by David_AVD on 15 Jul, 2014 05:37
• I created footprints for various hole sizes including an overlay circle to show where the bolt head (or nut driver) will extend out to.
  
  Set them to be a mechanical instead of standard types in its properties when you add them to the PCB.
• #3 Reply
  Posted by nsh1233 on 15 Jul, 2014 05:47
• So i just create a pad like this?
  
  

  Quote from: David_AVD on 15 Jul, 2014 05:37

  Set them to be a mechanical instead of standard types in its properties when you add them to the PCB.
  

  
  Thank you for your reply. What does it do when i change it to mechanical?

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• #4 Reply
  Posted by David_AVD on 15 Jul, 2014 06:05
• If you don't change the type to mechanical, whenever you update the PCB from schematic the ECO will try to remove the hole component as it's not in the schematic.
• #5 Reply
  Posted by DerekG on 15 Jul, 2014 06:34
• Quote from: nsh1233 on 15 Jul, 2014 05:27

  So my board requires 2 mounting holes (Refer to picture).
  

  
  Note that the mounting holes are plated through. If you are doing a reasonable volume, try to ensure that your mounting holes are also plated through, just like all your other holes.
  
  This saves money as all holes can be done at the one time.
  
  If you have any unplated holes, the panel must be placed back on the NC drills after the etching process is completed.
  
  This is double handling for which you will likely pay for.
• #6 Reply
  Posted by Precipice on 15 Jul, 2014 08:03
• If you're lucky (and your board house supports it), you might be able to sneak your fiducial into the footprint too - right at the corner of the board, and not taking up precious space. Check to be sure that there's enough free space around the fiducial - my PnP and solderpaste machines are happy with this, but others may need more clearance. Worth a try, though, especially on a tightly packed board.
  
  Edit: The fiducial isn't part of the hole footprint, it's a standalone part, to make sure it appears correctly on the pick & place data with a location.

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