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I use Eagle to design my own home etched (typically through hole) PCBs. On this particular board I use a ground fill and I've removed the thermals on the grounded pins because (funnily enough) I find the non-hatched holes easier to solder.

The problem I'm having is that Eagle then chooses to fill the drill hole with the ground pour making it impossible to see where to drill on the etched board. Here's what I'm talking about:

enter image description here

I'm probably doing something wrong here, but what I think I need is a black spot where the drill hole is. That way the copper is removed during etching and I can see where to place the drill.

The white rings are just me messing with drill aid ulp which won't help (I think) because it doesn't remove the copper.

Any ideas??

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Those are really tiny holes for pads that size.... \$\endgroup\$
    – DerStrom8
    Jan 12, 2018 at 12:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes, I like them that way. The drill holes are just an indication and I get the maximum amount of copper on the pad. That way, I get fewer pads burning off or lifting during soldering. Bitter experience! \$\endgroup\$
    – Buck8pe
    Jan 12, 2018 at 12:18

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I don't know how you transfer your EAGLE layout to whatever you use to etch your board.

If you simply print the layout, make all layers except TOP, PADS and VIAS invisible, because all visible layers will be printed. In the printer menu, choose

[x] black
[ ] filled

The unchecked "filled" options makes holes appear as such, and not covered by copper:

enter image description here

I prefer a CAM job, since it allows to select the layers separately and can generate files for top and bottom in one go. There, the option is called "fill pads" or similar.

(I don't have the english version here, so the options might be called slightly different)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the answer and my apologies for this late response. I checked out your solution briefly late last night and it didn't work for me. At least, not on the print preview. The equivalent print dialog option in my version of eagle (8.2.2) is "Solid". I had black selected and solid unselected and still no white spots. I'll try the CAM option and actually printing the sheet later and get back. \$\endgroup\$
    – Buck8pe
    Jan 13, 2018 at 9:34

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