Uncover vias and add test pads

[OhMyKiCad]

After the board layout is drawn from the schematic. I would like to do the following:
Uncover the vias and add test pads for testing. For example, I would like to add hex shaped pads so I would know that they are for testing by the shape. I would not really want these test pads to show up in the schematic but it could be beneficial to have them on a separate “layer” like AutoCAD. One could then turn their view-ability on and off while on the schematic page.

[1.21Gigawatts]

And what are you hoping to achieve by posting that here? Is there a question in there somewhere?

[Rene_Poschl]

@OhMyKiCad

Uncover the vias

I assume this means you want the vias free of solder mask. If you want this for all vias then you can select “to not tent vias” in the gerber export dialog.
If you only want it for a few you will need to use single pad footprints to achieve that.

@OhMyKiCad

I would like to add hex shaped pads so I would know that they are for testing by the shape.

Not easily possible in kicad 4. (Well you could overlap a few pads with the same number to achieve that.)
But this will be available in kicad 5 (not yet released). Not as a “Hexagon” pad shape but by using custom pads.

@OhMyKiCad

I would not really want these test pads to show up in the schematic but it could be beneficial to have them on a separate “layer” like AutoCAD. One could then turn their view-ability on and off while on the schematic page.

This feature does not exist. You could ask for it nicely over at the bugtracker. (Be aware that your request might get a low priority. So if you really need it you will need to get a dev personally interested in this.)

[OhMyKiCad]

Thank you much Rene.
When will kicad 5 be released?

[PCB_Wiz]

@OhMyKiCad

When will kicad 5 be released?

You can find V5 RC in the Nightlies
I think next is rc3, and final release is ‘close’.

@OhMyKiCad

I would not really want these test pads to show up in the schematic but it could be beneficial to have them on a separate “layer” like AutoCAD. One could then turn their view-ability on and off while on the schematic page.

That’s getting into the ‘unusual use’ basket, as most designs I’ve seen want to include the test points on the SCH, as that’s partly their point !
To give someone a probe point, they can locate and use.
If you do not like to see them on each sheet, you can give them a special sheet, and tag netnames to them, or ‘hide’ them on an edge.

Designs also usually place testpoints as explicit footprints, so you can export their XY for testers.
I don’t think via padstacks support any shape - just round ?
Footprints you can have more complex shapes on.

[Rene_Poschl]

@PCB_Wiz

You can find V5 RC in the Nightlies

This is a development pre release. Use it at your own risk. (Especially the documentation is still lacking.)

Is it a good idea to use a nightly build version?

Short answer: If you have to ask, you should probably stick to the stable release. What are nightly builds? As the name implies, nightly builds are generated every night from the current master branch of the source repository. They are meant to allow a wider audience to more easily test new features. What are the dangers when using nightly builds? Nightly builds like all software have bugs. Because they have new not yet widely tested features you must expect a higher number of bugs. This inclu…