I found that I can disable these errors through a checkbox in the footprint’s “Clearance and override settings”. However, I am not sure if this is the type of error that I can just ignore, without resulting in a faulty PCB. I plan to upload the Gerber/Drill/BOM/CPL files to one of these online services and have them do the PCB manufacturing and assembly.
My question is, can I simply ignore this error without issue? And if not, what kind of changes to do I need to make to the KiCAD settings or to the footprint itself?
Any assistance on this matter is highly appreciated
From your description I’m not sure if you have understood the issue correctly. Solder bridge is always unintended unless you manually solder two separate copper features together, jumping over the gap with tin on purpose. Maskless areas which leave the gap between two nets without mask are usually either unintended or necessary only because the manufacturer doesn’t make very narrow mask strip.
Bridge and bridging are difficult words here because they can mean almost opposite things. It can mean either the narrow mask strip which bridges two larger mask areas together, or the area without mask where two copper features near each other are left without protection.
Thanks for the tip! Reducing the soldermask expansion for the fine-pitched parts from 0.102 to 0.075mm results in mask being added between the pads. I am not sure if the solder masks are mandatory for this package (because else why would someone design the footprint this way…), but it does solve the errors. I will check with the fab house if they can support this setting
