In the below screenshot (see green ellipses), why is the GND pin 10 not connected to the left and right upper GND copper and only to the track at the top? Same question for the bottom of that pin.
I would think the more copper area connected to GND, the better. That’s why I always have a GND zone (mostly bottom side) and +5V zone (mostly top side) on my PCB’s and I’m trying to maximise the zones as much as possible (see 2nd screenshot).
I guess in your zone settings you specified thermal relief for filling. This only allows connections in a “+” layout. Depending on the clearance settings (DRC/Zone) it will be unable to reach those areas without violating clearance (distance to other pads).
Either change filling type to e.g. solid or reduce your clearance.
Solid fill might not be the best option either as it makes it a lot harder to solder depending on which process is used.
So a better option might be to play with the thermal relief settings (antipad clearance and spoke width.)
Waaw… I wasn’t even aware of this. I’ve always used the default settings and never stood still to what the difference was between the different pad connections. Now it’s more than clear. A pity I didn’t know this before I sent my PCB’s to OshPark…
Thanks very much for pointing this out!
My boards are anyway hand soldered. Would that make a difference for such situations?
Hand soldering really benefits from reduced thermal conduction of pads. So you might opt to stay with thermals but move stuff around a bit and you will get better results. (Move the SMD part away from the THT part to avoid both antipad regions to meet there.)
@Rene_Poschl I tend to think that the iron/tip used and skill-set are more significant factors than removing the thermal reliefs.
I am using iron with thin tip (right for 0603 footprints). It is really impossible to solder with it a pad which has solid connection to GND zone.
Other considerations:
And more generally: Is the tradeoff between electrical connection and solderability worth it?
If you want to know this, then scratch a bit of solder mask in the middle of a continuous plane and try to wet it with a bit of solder.
I’m not really disagreeing.
From the context of this post, it is my opinion that if there are good reasons to remove the thermal reliefs then hand solderability should not be the primary consideration.
If the design has a solid connection for thermal reasons, then it makes sense to use an appropriate iron and tip to make this connection. A design should be based upon the circuit requirements, not on what size tip is currently on an iron.
Of course, but from first picture in this thread it is seen that no thermal reasons are considered.
I just answered to question if solid/thermal connection makes difference for hand soldering. If I had to hand solder such solid connected pad I just take 100W trafo soldering iron and have it dine.
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