I'm designing my first PCB for a mass production product. They layout is complete, and I would like to put a few questions to rest before I order prototypes. I truly appreciate any advice given, and I hope that my questions are clear:
The board is rectangular, one layer, one sided, SMD, and destined for automated assembly.
The board is rectangular, one layer, one sided, SMD, and destined for automated assembly.
- Are SMD pads in effect the same as copper traces? I don't mean functionally, I mean are they both just metallic etchings; are they composed in the same manner? I ask, because I incorporate this battery holder into my design. For the negative (circular) terminal, I placed a pad in my board design, although nothing is to be soldered to that pad, only the battery will sit on it. Is this correct to do?
- What is the difference between solder mask and paste mask? What does it mean to apply a mask to a pad? In NI Ultiboard, the "properties" tab of each pad there are two check boxes, "Solder Mask" and "Paste Mask" What is the difference, and what does it do to a pad when you apply a mask? I though masks are only for traces, and that pads must be exposed...
- In my design, I need to have 2 in-going wires which are to be soldered to the board, and 2 out-going wires which leave the board. I want them to be soldered permanently without using a jumper. From what I understand, this is typically done by soldering them to a hole. I don't think these instructions are something which are included in the design file, so how can I instruct a manufacturer to perform this procedure, do I simply provide an annotation or pass the information by some other means?
- It is important for the bottom of my board to be flush, because it has to fit into a flat housing. All components are top side SMD, but as I mentioned before I need to drill holes for the in-going/out-going wires. It is vital that these wires do not protrude all the way through the board, so that the bottom side remains flat. How can I accomplish this? If I drill blind holes, would that increase the cost? By what other means can this be accomplished?