Homebrew PCBs

I'm not sure how it can be done in eagle. In most any other layout
software you'd just define the padstack so it doesn't have a pad on
top where you can't solder. Since the pads in eagle are a separate
single layer that might be impossible for all I know. You might be
able to fake it by using SMD pads, but it would be one horrible
kludge, should fit right in with Eagle.

There's a list 'specially for Eagle, you might have more luck here:
eaglecad@yahoogroups.com

Regarding soldering on top side, It's possible for turned sockets,
which expose a little of the metal, but tricky.

ST

On Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 8:00 PM, awakephd <a_wake@...> wrote:
> I can't help you with the question about Eagle, but FWIW I don't think there is a way to do that in Kicad, which is the layout program I use. This is one reason why auto-routers have limitations; a lot of folks here do most or all of their layout manually. (Well -- manually as in telling the program where to put the trace; it's still a heck of a lot easier than the old press & stick manual process!)
>
> One thing I have done to include a socket is to use a wire-wrap socket -- the long legs let you mount it as high as needed to be able to solder on the top side and still have it stick out the bottom -- in fact, you'll almost certainly wind up cutting the legs shorter to keep them from sticking out too far. This feels like a kludgy solution to me, but I have used it at the prototyping stage.
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Brian Lalor <blalor@...> wrote:
>>
>> Does anyone know if it's possible to tell Eagle that standard holes
>> for through-hole components aren't automatically attached to both top
>> and bottom layers?  That seems to be the assumption, and I ended up
>> with an isolated ground plane on my first board.  I fixed that easily,
>> but I'm finding that I need to pay careful attention when laying out
>> the board to ensure that I will have connected the layers together at
>> a given hole where necessary.  For example, it's easy to solder the
>> leg of an IC to both layers without a socket, but if you *are* using a
>> socket, you can only solder to the bottom layer (if the socket's on
>> top).
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Brian
>>
>> --
>> Brian Lalor / blalor@...
>>      You snooze, you lose
>>      Well I have snost and lost
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBsYahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>