whishlist - pcbnew: more detailed via settings

[Dino Ghilardi]

On multi-layer boards it is often useful being able to set different via diameter on internal layers than it is on external ones (think about a multilayer board with a BGA on it, where on middle layers a smaller copper area is required on vias and a bigger copper on the top is needed).

An intuitive place to have the control may be in Board setup->Tracks and vias and add in the vias frame have "External size" and "Inner size" (this is the approach used in Pads).

An example of such needs can be shown in the xilinx document:
https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/user_guides/ug1099-bga-device-design-rules.pdf

around page 32 - 33 - 34, where there is almost no copper on the non-connected via.

More examples and usage cases in:
https://forum.kicad.info/t/optimizing-annular-rings-of-vias-in-inner-layers/1514/22
(with new features ideas as "enlarge via copper on layers with connection")

Also is one of the points in:
https://blueprints.launchpad.net/kicad/+spec/few-improvements-for-pcbnew

(I did not see this feature request in the wishlist-bug reports, so I report it here, hoping it is not a duplicate).

[Nick Østergaard (nickoe)]

You can already set different via size for internal layers.

[Seth Hillbrand (sethh)]

@Dino- I'm going to fold this into the padstacks feature. Once we support differing layers for a stack, we can trim the inner copper to arbitrary values (or remove)

[Dino Ghilardi (dino-ghilardi)]

On 19/07/19 13:13, Nick Østergaard wrote:
> You can already set different via size for internal layers.
>
> ** Changed in: kicad
> Importance: Undecided => Wishlist
>
> ** Changed in: kicad
> Status: New => Incomplete
>

Hi Nick,

I'm looking in the pcbnew manual, but I don't find the place to set a
via diameter for internal layers different from the via diameter of
external layers. Tried also to see it in the menues of 5.1 and master
version but I did not find it.

Cheers,
Dino.