Hardware Projects » OpenVizsla USB tracer/analyzer

On the current design, all bigger ICs have rounded pads, but none of the smaller ones and also none of the passive parts have.

We prefer rounded pads (and rounded shapes of the respective openings in the solder cream stencil) as they both reduce the probability for solder beads and also reduce the number of stencil cleaning cycles during a production run (amongst other advantages). Of course the solder stop openings shall then adapt to the changed shapes.

Please slightly round all SMD pads which do not have a similar shape already. - While the IPC-7351B recommandation is a full radius pad (adapts to more different solder paste grain sizes, and preferred for tall and long pads like for the huge TQFP), for the simpler parts we prefer a rounded rechtangle over an oblong (see image; anim gif).

For Eagle, I usually start with these setting as a minimum (see 2nd image); maybe you also can automagically adapt it percentaged to the pad's size.