PCB Drilling

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
the answer is maybe.. All through hole components are different. .032" is very typical for many IC leads though. But others might need larger holes.. Just measure the diameter of the leads and add some slop and drill away..
You designed the board.. you SHOULD know what you put for hole sizes.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
A better approach is to take each and every part using a thru hole and make a list of the lead diameters. Then see what size hole each lead would require. Oversize the holes to allow for imperfect pins (bent or out of alignment) so they can fall into place without a lot of fussing.

I tend to undersize my holes, and as I get them done by a real PCB house I don't have the luxury of just drilling them a bit wider.

You may get lucky and find one drill is OK for everything.
 

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
Hope the PCB works. :)

I usually use 0.7 or 0.8mm and 1.0mm drill bits. Some of my resistors and capacitors have thin leads, while others have thicker one...
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,710
The hole sizes you select during the design process can be hit or miss.

If you are drilling the holes yourself by hand the bit of slop in the drilling will end up with wider holes. Best to start off with a small drill and check for size.

If the board is being sent to a fab shop, you have to read their requirements carefully. Some shops use the actual drill size and the holes will become narrower after plating. Frustrating to get your boards back from fab and your pins cannot penetrate the holes.

Others will spec finished hole sizes. Hence need to add some extra slop.
 

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
Friggin Maldives...

I could not find a drill bit smaller than 2mm :mad:

Guess I have to go shopping on Ebay !!
 

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
OOOOOOOH! time to go shopping ...thanks guys.

Lotta dollar is falling these days and I still can't seem to hang on to them.

Gimme a few days to finish the stuff, after that I'll start shopping.

Taa taa for now..
 

thatoneguy

Joined Feb 19, 2009
6,359
Make sure you get the ones with the heavy shanks to support the tiny drillbit diameter!

Trying to spin an entire bit under 1/32" in diameter makes for lots of broken bits, especially when the user wants to "go faster".

They should make a set of 0.1" leaded SMD devices for the lazy in us. Stick on any protoboard and solder, only no holes to deal with.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
I have several sets of very tiny drill bits. "Several" as they are cheap and it's easier to buy another set then replace a broken bit. I work the smaller ones by hand (fingers actually) in a device called a "pin vice" which is a small chuck made to be spun by your fingers.

It's easy to make a few holes this way and if I'm attentive I don't break the bits. I've never had to drill out a large board with oodles of holes to do.
 

thatoneguy

Joined Feb 19, 2009
6,359
They actually do for some things, they are just normal DIP parts with the leads bent and trimmed.
eg.
http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/SMT-End-stackable-DIL-slide-switches-81521
I was thinking of resistors, caps, and diodes that had 0.2" centers for the pad edges and such. Like a macro version of the current SMD, transistors with 3 gull wing leads on 0.1" centers, etc. I've bent DIPs to look like your link above, and it does make for a neat building solution on a board, and some SMD devices are large enough, though SOT-23 transistors fall just a bit short. :(

It'd be a niche market and they'd be spendy anyway, but if they did come about, a solderless breadboard for them would follow, maybe a ton of micro-clip ends for some of the holes so through hole could also be used.
 
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