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Creating Padstacks

Now we will see how to create a padstack RND_PAD, as shown in the figure below, using the following steps.

1. Double click Library in the Project Explorer to launch the Library Editor. Click the tab PADSTACK to open padstack editing mode.

You may create the padstack using two ways. Either by entering the padstack details using the wizard or by manually editing the default padstack in the workspace.

· Creating a new padstack automatically

1. Select File | New Padstack using Wizard. to pop up window as shown below

2. In the window, a miniature representation of the padstack is shown in the preview. Right click on the preview for options to view True size, Hrf items and Airgap view. From the Fetch from Padstack Library(s) tab, select the padstack “N_RND_100_H_100”. Now on moving to the Edit or Create New Padstack tab, the padstack details of “N_RND_100_H_100” appears.

3. The minimum information required to create a New Padstack is given in the fig. The user may edit the values

Name = N_RND_100_H_100 and press the Enter key.

Create HRF items = select the checkbox

Airgap = 0.0120"

Hole Category = 0

Hole diameter = 0.1000"

On clicking the Edit by Layers button, the pad details of different layers (Shape, diameter, Airgap and the option of selecting the layers to be used) appears.

On clicking the Edit by Layers button, the pad details of different layers ( Shape, Xdimension and Y dimension and the option of selecting the layers to be used appears). It is possible to edit the values for a number of layers at the same time by selecting the number of rows at one go (Just drag the mouse but make sure the mouse cursor does not cross the grid and venture into the grey window area so that the selection is not lost) and enter the value in the textbox which projects outward.

Note :Global Editing of layers is also allowed.

Finally click the button Make to create the new padstack. Now the edited changes are visible in the Preview in the right pane. Click on Proceed to manual editing to effect the changes and exit. This completes the Padstack creation using wizard. The edited padstack appears in the Padstack editor and further edition can be done using the tools available.

File | Save Padstack | Padstack name.

Else

· Create the padstack manually

1. From the Padstack Editor | File | New Padstack. (The editor opens with a default new padstack).

2. Set the hole diameter using the tool Properties/ Padstack Properties. Enter the hole diameter as 0.035” and hole category as 0. On clicking the button you may see that the hole is placed on the workspace, indicated by dotted lines.

3. Now you have to create the pad for each layer.

4. Select the Create Graphic Item function tool and select the Create Circle option tool to create a round padstack.

5. Click the mouse on the workspace. A small circle gets placed on the workspace. To obtain the required size, you have to stretch the circle using the Stretch Item function tool.

Tips:

Pressing the SHIFT key while stretching an item allows to stretch the item smoothly to any size. Switch off View/ True size while selecting an item for stretching or relocating.

Using Place Contact Points function tool, you may easily create the circle. Place two contact pointsP1 and P2 as the start and end points of the diameter of the circle. Then select the Create Circle tool and click the mouse. You will see the circle being created automatically enclosing the placed contact points.

Now you have created a single layer pad.

6. If you want to create the pad for all layers, you have to repeat the graphic item 32 times using the Repeat tool. Press the ESC button or the ESC key to stop the process of repeating items. Then change the layers for each item using the tool Properties/ Item Properties and assign each graphic item to different layers. Finally keep these items one above the other such that the hole comes in the center of the stack to get a single padstack. Select the Relocate tool to place the circles together.

Usually the diameter of the graphic item for the Solder mask layer and Component mask layer is kept slightly greater than that for the inner layers. So, in the figure above you can notice that the outer circle (Solder Mask) is bigger than the stacked circles.

Tip: To view any layer in the padstack, select View | Active Layers. A window pops up. Toggle the status of the layer you want to view as YES and keep the status of all other layers as NO. Click to return to the workspace with the selected layer displayed

7. The HRF item may be created using the tool Create Graphic Item/ Create Hrf Pad along with Create Arc tool enabled. Define the contact points with the tool Set Contact Point. Then select Create Graphic Item with both the tool Create Hrf Pad and Create Arc tool enabled. Draw arcs to surround the padstack as shown below.

8. Save the padstack by selecting File | Save Padstack from the Padstack Editor window.

To edit an already existing padstack, select the padstack from Library Explorer and right click to pop up a menu. Select Edit Padstack for editing.