55
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to route a trace through a pad?
There is no problem routing traces through pads (like you have done). Be aware when routing power/GND of the current that will be travelling through these traces. This will dictate trace thickness. In ...
- 1,631
26
votes
Accepted
Square vs Round pad
This is to identify which pin is "pin 1".
In the case of a single-row header with no orientation key, this might not really matter, but the layout tool might do this by default and the designer didn'...
- 134k
24
votes
Accepted
What is an ideal layout for a normally-open solder jumper?
Take this layout:
|¯¯\ \¯¯|
|__/ /__|
Just make the arrows better than I did here :D
Slide with solder left to right to close, right to left to open. Reduce the ...
- 581
15
votes
What is an ideal layout for a normally-open solder jumper?
The correct answer is probably: there exists no ideal layout.
Or at least none which the PCB CAD and/or manufacturer will approve. Usually the default clearance area around a pad/trace is too wide to ...
- 22.2k
14
votes
Is it OK to route a trace through a pad?
No, it is not a problem routing through a pad.
You might wish to consider adding ground and power planes to the design.
- 7,705
13
votes
Connecting pads with the same functionality belonging to one chip
(C) vs. (D):
I don't think there are any significant advantages to one or the other.
(A) vs. (B):
I would default to (B). The reason is that (A) can look like an unintentional short after soldering. ...
- 3,456
12
votes
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Pads in IC's corners
They are there to allow for wave soldering. As the solder flows on the legs, any excess can end up on those pads, not shorting out the pins of the IC.
- 626
12
votes
Connecting pads with the same functionality belonging to one chip
All these schemes should be fine, I've never had issues with any of them. This is considering normal operating temperatures. The nice thing about B is you can cut the trace easier if you need to do ...
- 88.8k
12
votes
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Exposed pad and ground
In general, the die is made of P-doped silicon, which forms diodes with the N-doped silicon of microelectronic components, so the substrate must have the most negative voltage in the device. Therefore,...
- 20.1k
11
votes
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Solder trap pads
This is a mixed through-hole/SMT board and it was wave soldered (so all of the visible parts in your photo were literally immersed in molten solder).
The only thing I see related to excess solder are ...
11
votes
Accepted
KiCad: Some pads to solder wires on
I would do it like this: in the schematic, place a Conn_01x01_Male component and connect it to the signal you need. Then in "Assign Footprints" search for the test point you want to use, e.g. ...
- 276
10
votes
Square vs Round pad
Not a standard, but it's useful to mark where pin 1 is. This might be useful if you don't have a silkscreen, but you wish to mark the orientation of the socket.
- 7,999
10
votes
Through holes vs pads for hand soldering
Soldering wires directly into holes in a PCB is not great- the solder wicks up stranded wire and creates a spot where the wire tends to bend and break off. For ease of re-soldering (assuming you don't ...
9
votes
Is it OK to route a trace through a pad?
This should not be a problem if the pad is used, i.e. soldered before use. That will increase the current carrying capacity many times. Additionally, each side of the ring looks about as thick as the ...
- 2,197
9
votes
KiCad: Some pads to solder wires on
Or, you use the 'standard' Connector_Wire library in already KiCad v5. If not, you might be able to download it from GitHub, assuming KiCad version compatibility. Then add via the footprint library ...
- 7,621
9
votes
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Can breakout board still be used if the pad gets ripped out?
It is only a double sided board. You should be able to salvage this, though it will be ugly.
You cannot simply install a new pin header and go on. Many of the traces to the eyelets are broken - you ...
- 73.6k
9
votes
Shorting (connecting) two pads that are on opposite sides of the PCB
A crocodile clamp bridging top to bottom side electrically?
Image borrowed from https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6-Pcs-6-Colors-55mm-Crocodile-Alligator-Clip-For-4mm-Male-Banana-Plug-Connector/...
- 16.8k
9
votes
Exposed pad and ground
Read the datasheet for each part. Looking at the datasheet for that part, pg 1058 "The exposed die attach pad is not connected electrically inside the device. It is recommenced to attach
(solder) ...
- 2,600
9
votes
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Reflow soldering with decreased footprint size fully within pad
The main thing to consider is: How large is the pad on the component?
If the component pad is big, then making the footprint pad small and running traces there will leave only the solder stop mask as ...
- 23.4k
9
votes
Acceptable PCB practice for pad routing and vias
For (1), yes, you can certainly do that. The only case where it might be a problem is when it's a very high-bandwidth controlled-impedance signal, but if it's a high-bandwidth controlled-impedance ...
- 38.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Acceptable PCB practice for pad routing and vias
You can route your signals to whatever point of the pad that is convenient for you, it does not matter (at least not until you go into very high frequencies). So both options on your image are equally ...
- 8,118
8
votes
Accepted
Eagle 'optional' solder pads
I'm quite sure you are looking for solder jumpers. The build-in library "jumper" has two types SJ and SJ2 with two or three terminals:
And just what it looks like on the PCB, with a 1206 resistor for ...
- 8,670
8
votes
Accepted
Acute angle on a pad or a via
These are fine. There are no acute angles in the examples you've given. In the first one, the angles are 135° and 90°. In the second one, the traces are on different layers. The reason that you are ...
- 7,999
8
votes
Accepted
Through holes vs pads for hand soldering
Maximum customization:
Readymade "DuPont" style wires with female connectors on the ends, that mate to male 0.1" headers soldered on your board. That's the mess on the left part of the ...
- 81.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Impact of increased pad length in PCB
If you increase the pad, you will probably increase the amount of paste too. Too much paste will increase the possibility of the component tombstoning as the solder melts.
- 8,015
6
votes
Square vs Round pad
It is there to mark the location of a specific pin (mostly pin 1). It helps in deciding the orientation in which a component should be placed.
No you can't push more amps through the square pad. ...
- 2,162
6
votes
Accepted
Question relative to pads for capacitors - high frequency
I hope you know that a capacitor basically consists of two electrically conductive plates which are close together but do not touch.
There can also be a dielectric (non conductive!) material in ...
- 81.4k
6
votes
Can breakout board still be used if the pad gets ripped out?
Use lead based 60-40 wire solder.
Use a clean well tinned iron.
Iron should ideally be temperature controlled.
Clean iron tip by wiping on a clean rag or suitable sponge (some melt).
Material from '...
- 152k
6
votes
Through holes vs pads for hand soldering
In your case it might be useful to combine through-holes and pads:
through-holes are much more durable but are nasty to (re)solder to because they have to be cleaned from remaining solder
wires can ...
- 2,923
6
votes
Accepted
Are these circles in the exposed pad of a VQFN footprint meant to be non-metallized, and if so, for what purpose?
This is a classic case of not reading one keyword: "via." The callout specifies Ø0.2 mm diameter typical via.
The solder paste example (on the next page) shows these vias in between solder ...
- 34.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible