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I'm working on an Altium footprint for a plated mounting hole with embedded vias arranged around the hole. I have the copper the way I want, but Altium is now throwing DRC errors at me that I'd like to resolve.

I'm getting a collision error between the Multi-Layer pad/vias and the Region Keep-Out Layer.

I would like the Keepout layer around the mounting hole to keep this area clear from any other PCB objects. I don't want it to throw errors due to the internal elements of the mounting hole itself. I'd like to resolve this within the library so the footprint is reusable, rather than manually ignoring this specific DRC or otherwise finding a workaround at the PCB level.

Is there an elegant way to resolve this DRC error at the footprint level?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Try using pads instead of vias for the perforations. \$\endgroup\$
    – Cristobol Polychronopolis
    Oct 1, 2019 at 19:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ Couldn't you draw your keepout as an empty box using 4 lines instead of a solid region? \$\endgroup\$
    – brhans
    Oct 1, 2019 at 20:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think what I'd really like is a keepout region defined by the area between the outer square and an inner circle around the hole. Not sure how/if Altium will allow me to define a shape like that. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chris Fernandez
    Oct 2, 2019 at 18:11
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    \$\begingroup\$ We include a 3D Body of the screw with head into our footprint (or a cylindric object as dummy). Then you can use component clearance design rules to ensure the distance between components and the screw \$\endgroup\$
    – schwdk
    Feb 26, 2021 at 10:02

1 Answer 1

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I realize this is an old question and you've likely already solved it or moved on, but for anyone else that crosses this question: the reason DRC errors are being thrown is because you have set up the keepout area to ban everything:

  • tracks, copper (pours), and SMD pads (correct)
  • vias and through-hole pads (incorrect)

If you uncheck "Vias" and "TH Pads", the keepout area will block copper pours and track routing but will still allow the mounting hole and vias.

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