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Hi all,
I’m making a footprint for a SMD coin battery holder and I need to add mechanical guide holes (for plastic pins in the holder).
I can do it as NPTH or a shape on the Edge.Cuts layer. Both giving the same result.
Which way is correct / preferred for KLC? and why?
In this case most probably a npth pad. First, it’s probably small enough to be drilled by the manufacturer. Drilling has – again, probably – better tolerance for diameter and shape and the manufacturer likes drilling more. Second, although edge.cuts are supported in KiCad footprints, it’s not used much and may have some corner case bugs or other problems (the possibility for bugs is small, but still). Third, it’s a mechanical hole for a component and there’s no specific reason to use edge.cuts for those. Usually everybody handles them as just holes, not as routed inner slots.
In the end this may depend on the manufacturer: try to find information from their web page. They may tell the size under which they want drilled holes, for example 6 mm.