I use PCB tools and sometimes they ask for via plating thickness, what is a value that I can approximate most via plating thickness? What value would you use and why? If I wanted to bound the thickness (min,max) what values could I use?
2 Answers
Standard Spec for Beta-layout (https://us.beta-layout.com/pcb/technology/specifications/ Material construction tab) is 16-23 \$\mu \mathrm{m}\$ for copper in barrel. I suppose you can ask for whatever you need, but this is their standard board.
Oshpark's standard 2- and 4-layer boards have 25.4um (1mil) via plating
Via plating thickness will affect electrical and thermal resistance of that via, which may be important depending on your application. Here is a handy calculator for determining via electrical and thermal resistance as a function of hole dia, plating thickness, and via length: http://circuitcalculator.com/wordpress/2006/03/12/pcb-via-calculator
I would check with your board house or CM to determine which standard plating thicknesses they offer, then use the calculator to pick from amongst those.
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\$\begingroup\$ I'm well aware of what the values are used for, what I'm wondering is how thick is the via plating and the tolerances. I have a calculator. Please make sure you read the question before answering. In other words, I would like numbers \$\endgroup\$– Voltage Spike ♦Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 15:29
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\$\begingroup\$ I was hoping to address your "why" in "What value would you use and why?". You can put in different thickness values into the calculator to see which thicknesses meet your design requirements. I would think the particular value you want would be the intersection of what's offered by your board house and what meets your design constraints electrically and thermally. Am I missing something? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 15:36
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\$\begingroup\$ Yeah, I use a lot of different board houses I looked and I can't find the thickness for via plating, There are two questions about values of thickness, that is what I'm interested in \$\endgroup\$– Voltage Spike ♦Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 15:47
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\$\begingroup\$ Oshpark's standard 2- and 4-layer boards have 25.4um (1mil) via plating: docs.oshpark.com/submitting-orders/drill-specs \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 16:18