Oval holes in PCB - is this a special manufacturing thing?

[eyAyXGhF]

Hey guys,
I'm revising a circuit board design to be manufactured, and this time I'd like to include oval holes. I've never used them before, and want to use them because they would save space compared to a regular circular hole. The application is for a zip-tie to pass through the circuit board to secure wires.

Does this add to the complexity of the manufacturing, and is this something specific I need to give the manufacturer a heads-up about - or is it no different than a regular hole?

FWIW, I'm using KiCad and plan to get my boards made by pcbcart. Their online quote page has a category asking about "Slots/cutouts in Board: " with options for "No / Yes non-plated through / Yes partial or all plated through".

 

[4pyros]

A slot would need to be milled.
A hole can be drilled faster.
It may add cost unless they are already milling other parts of the board.
You should check with the manufactur.
Slots would be better for tie wraps anyway.
No need for any plating.

 

[ronsimpson]

Is the hole plated or not?

 

[eyAyXGhF]

Is the hole plated or not?

It definitely doesn't need to be plating, since a zip tie is just passing through it.

 

[ronsimpson]

I use eagle cad.
In the board outline layer draw a line where you want the slot. Or draw a rectangle.
Talk to you board house first.

 

[Colin]

Or you can do what I did and create a row of 1mm holes very close together and break them out with a file.
This saves the cost of routing.