Homebrew PCBs

And so does Kicad ...

Maybe we should ask which -- if any -- commonly used PCB programs do NOT include thermal relief options? :)

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Villeneuve <andrewmv@...> wrote:
>
> On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 6:39 AM, Howard Chester <howard.chester@...>wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > Hello Steve, Does your PCB package Have a thermal relief setting in the
> > copper fill function?
> > By using this function when doing the copper fill in PCB layout helps when
> > soldering by stopping the heat from your soldering iron being shunted to the
> > ground plane.
> > You should have various options in copper fill(also called copper pour) to
> > select the thermal relief settings, eg. size, number of spokes, separate
> > settings for SMD devices etc.
> > If your package does not have these settings check out the free DIPTrace
> > schematic and PCB package (300 pin limit) at
> > http://diptrace.com
> > Hope this is of some help with your current problem, chester
> >
> 
> EagleCAD also allows you to enable thermal relief patterns on copper
> fills/pours, and I'd highly recommend it for any homebrew work.
> 
> To enable it, get info on your fill polygon, and check the "Thermals"
> checkbox.
> 
> -Andrew
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>