SMD Pad and tstop layer

Thank you for the response and your experience Paul.

I have my library footprint open, but I don't see how to modify the DRC

setting you are referencing.  If I go to 'Option', then 'Set...' a

dialog opens that has a title of 'Settings' and there is a 'DRC' tab,

but the only thing on this tab is 'Fill style of error polygons' and

nothing else.  I would like to turn off the auto tstop or at least be

able to adjust how much larger the tstop is.  Can you help me further

and let me know where I should be looking to adjust the setting?

On the last couple boards I made I didn't check the tstop, then when I

got the board back one or two pads on each SMT I used would be larger. 

The larger pad as the ground pad because I did a ground fill without

thermals and with the larger tstop this made the pad larger.  Hand

soldering was more difficult on my fine pitch SMT because of this and I

would like to fix it.

Paul Romanyszyn wrote:

Timothy D. Swieter wrote:

I am in the library editor creating a new package (footprint).  I am

using the SMD Pad tool and have no problem placing pads.  What I do

have a problem with is that the tstop layer is larger than than the

pad.  Why is this?  How can I make it the same size as the pad?  I am

trying to manually edit the layer and rectangle but it doesn't seem

to be working.

 

Thank you,

Tim

It is modified by DRC settings. You can turn off the auto tstop and

draw your own. Note PCB houses seem to want the stop bigger then the

pad to allow for alignment errors and will fix up your art work or say

it is a problem if it is too tight.

 

What I have seen under microscopic inspection is solder and flux will

migrate under the mask and cleaning the flux becomes difficult.

Paul R.

Thank you for the response and your experience Paul.

I have my library footprint open, but I don't see how to modify the DRC

setting you are referencing.  If I go to 'Option', then 'Set...' a

dialog opens that has a title of 'Settings' and there is a 'DRC' tab,

but the only thing on this tab is 'Fill style of error polygons' and

nothing else.  I would like to turn off the auto tstop or at least be

able to adjust how much larger the tstop is.  Can you help me further

and let me know where I should be looking to adjust the setting?

On the last couple boards I made I didn't check the tstop, then when I

got the board back one or two pads on each SMT I used would be larger. 

The larger pad as the ground pad because I did a ground fill without

thermals and with the larger tstop this made the pad larger.  Hand

soldering was more difficult on my fine pitch SMT because of this and I

would like to fix it.

Paul Romanyszyn wrote:

Timothy D. Swieter wrote:

I am in the library editor creating a new package (footprint).  I am

using the SMD Pad tool and have no problem placing pads.  What I do

have a problem with is that the tstop layer is larger than than the

pad.  Why is this?  How can I make it the same size as the pad?  I am

trying to manually edit the layer and rectangle but it doesn't seem

to be working.

 

Thank you,

Tim

It is modified by DRC settings. You can turn off the auto tstop and

draw your own. Note PCB houses seem to want the stop bigger then the

pad to allow for alignment errors and will fix up your art work or say

it is a problem if it is too tight.

 

What I have seen under microscopic inspection is solder and flux will

migrate under the mask and cleaning the flux becomes difficult.

Paul R.