label: pcb layout program,pcb board production,PCB manufacturer
A nice feature of professional is a solder mask. A solder mask is an electrically and chemically insulating coating that protects the metal traces against the environment and unintended electrical connections.
If you do not choose the correct element in your PCB layout program, then any extended soldering pad area that you add will get covered by solder mask during pcb board production. That would eliminate the benefit of an increased surface area to solder.
In the PCB layout sofware, make the extended soldering pad by choosing a round pad from the pad tool pcb board, rather than a circle from circle/arc tool. That way, the PCB manufacturer will not coat pads, because those are intended to be soldered. Simply move the 0.080-inch diameter pad to the 0.029-inch diameter hole to make a hole with an extended solder area. Remember, this trick lets you have a larger soldering surface on one side of the board, while allowing traces through the pins on the other side of the board. If you need a larger soldering surface on both sides, you should simply increase the size of the pad with the hole in it pcb board.
