Countersink and Counterbore

| Created: August 4, 2022 | Updated: October 24, 2024

Ergonomics and convenience are important issues when designing a printed circuit board and the device as a whole. A lot of Altium Designer tools are aimed at solving them. These include Countersink and Counterbore holes, which allow the use of various types of screws in the mounting holes of the board.

Quick Overview

In most cases, printed circuit boards require mounting holes. Holes with countersink and counterbore allow using different types of fixing screws. It is often useful when the space in the mechanical enclosure is limited.

Dimensions

COUNTERSINK

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You must decide on the type of screws you are using.
The information required for countersink:

Mounting hole diameter (D1);
Countersink diameter (D2) or Depth;
Countersink angle (82°, 90°, 120° etc).

COUNTERBORE

You must decide on the type of screws you are using.
The information required for counterbore:

Mounting hole diameter (D1);
Counterbore diameter (D2);
Depth the counterbore is to be drilled.

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Pad properties

Additional features

PCB EDITOR

Counterholes are displayed as Layer Pairs in the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel:

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Counterholes are supported in the Fabrication Outputs (NC Drill Files, ODB++ Files, IPC-2581):

DRAFTSMAN

Support for Counter Holes in the Drill Table:

Additional Counter Hole Views:

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About Author

Zachariah Peterson has an extensive technical background in academia and industry. He currently provides research, design, and marketing services to companies in the electronics industry. Prior to working in the PCB industry, he taught at Portland State University and conducted research on random laser theory, materials, and stability. His background in scientific research spans topics in nanoparticle lasers, electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor devices, environmental sensors, and stochastics. His work has been published in over a dozen peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and he has written 2500+ technical articles on PCB design for a number of companies. He is a member of IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Electronics Packaging Society, American Physical Society, and the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA). He previously served as a voting member on the INCITS Quantum Computing Technical Advisory Committee working on technical standards for quantum electronics, and he currently serves on the IEEE P3186 Working Group focused on Port Interface Representing Photonic Signals Using SPICE-class Circuit Simulators.