How to create teardrops

How to make this kind of via to make my board more efficient

KiCad can’t do it out of the box. You need tear drops plugin, there are a few, search the forum.

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How to add plug in for Windows 10

Multiple people have answered that already, for example

Also read instructions for the plugin, it will likely have a few words about installation.

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As a first step maybe check if it is really worth the effort. Most modern fabs have precise enough drill alignment for teardrops to no longer be necessary while keeping the via annulus reasonably small.


Note that this does not mean this feature is unnecessary. Just that most users will not need them. I think they are still a requirement for flexible boards and for very high frequency boards. Both of these usecases are currently not well supported by KiCad.

yup,. the IPC-2223 recommends teardrops at through-hole connections to alleviate stress at the point where the trace meets the annulus ring.

I still like doing teardrops because they look nice :slight_smile:

Olimex also uses “teardrops” in the Olinuxino 64 (On Github) on the 0.1" I/O expansion header. The goal here is clearly not HF, but just to reduce stress concentrations where thin tracks are connected to this connector.

They have used a very simple (but still effective) method of a short thick trace for the last few mm to the THT pads

Though I don’t have experience with Teardrop Vias, I sometimes use Trapezoidal Pads - perhaps that could work for you in some situations…

Screen Shot 2020-06-12 at 2.09.53 PM

Hi
I have written a teardrop plugin for kicad 5.
You can find it here : https://github.com/NilujePerchut/kicad_scripts

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I’ve added this to the Scripts Index. Feel free to start a thread for this script if you feel it is warranted and we can WIKI the first post so you can keep it updated.

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