That is still pretty small annular ring for hand soldering. It will be difficult to touch both the pad and the pin with your iron tip to heat them up for soldering. I’d shoot for 0.4mm to 0.5mm annular ring as long as that doesn’t make the pads too large for net clearances between the pin pads, as well as getting a signal out of that middle pin.
Even though you don’t plan on using pin5 for this design, if you box that pin in then your next design where you use this connector and you want to use pin5 for something you would have to redesign the footprint instead of simply re-using this footprint that you have put so much time and effort into.
now I realise I should be using manufacturer chip instead of their dev board.
connection will be easier and cleaner board design.
I got my hands on a drawing like this;
all parts are made of single lines…
I guess the inner rectagle is the pad, and the outer should be silk.
now that all of these line are ‘individual’ should I merge them into groups using ‘part Union’
then create F_silk, fab, pads for each…
I suggested @Guillaume_Boulay this method because this is not an issue at all.
Normally board manufacturers just subtract the silk screen from the solder mask… Then the silks will never cover a pad.
Moreover if you want to be sure, just check the “Subtract solder mask from silkscreen” option when you generate your gerbers.
you can add a wrl counterpart exported with StepUp form the model you have aligned to the footprint…
When you will generate the Step exporting, kicad will substitute the wrl with the step model.
Are those mounting legs solderable ?
Usually on connectors it’s a good idea to solidly solder the ‘spring tines’, as that prevents flex and stress on the pin solder joints. That would mean adding large PCB pads on those largest holes.
We also try to connect/solder to bottom side only on connectors, or any items that may have mechanical forces on them. In some cases, we have done 100% redundant routing to a via, and connected both top and bottom. This is done to not rely on the plating in the hole under stress.
Or bring the whole PCB edge, or part of the edge (as in a tongue) closer to the case.
it’s a very heavy connector and all stress should be on the panel since it’s screwed from the outside of the case. internal part is only for connection. now I have a polycabornate case, but I may opt for aluminium diecast RF protected case, that is super strong… once installed the case should be left alone for many years… so I’m not too woried about stress on that connector.
that is the RF case: (not my board ) just hammond web site pic.
I see that once I import the pads are ‘locked’ ?
I’m able to change the Pad numbers but I can’t change the Net names …
I see it’s common issue people are having but can’t really find how to unlock it.
