Hi Chris, Board manufacturers prefer to remove the non-functional pads because it simplifies the artwork, and ultimately, it's that much more copper they have to drill through. However, many designers of hi-rel boards (i.e. space applications) insist that the pads are kept to maintain the physical integrity of the via. The catch is that if the unused pads are kept, then the drill can wear out faster and is more susceptible to wander on thicker stackups. Depending on the size of your annular ring, this may or may not be a problem. So, keeping the pads can reduce overall yield and drive up the cost of fabricating the PWB. Removing them can weaken the via. It's a trade off. Regards, Tim -----Original Message----- From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Chris Herrick Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 2:26 PM To: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [SI-LIST] Non-Functional Pads Hello all, it's my understanding that non-functional pads degrade performance of signal vias however most PCB manufactures do not remove them by default. I do a lot of via modeling and am curious about what the most common practice is. Do people generally request to remove non-functional pads or do they leave them in the design? How common are the manufacturing issues that prohibit removal of the NFPs. Thanks, Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from si-list: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field or to administer your membership from a web page, go to: //www.freelists.org/webpage/si-list For help: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'help' in the Subject field List technical documents are available at: http://www.si-list.net List archives are viewable at: //www.freelists.org/archives/si-list or at our remote archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/si-list/messages Old (prior to June 6, 2001) list archives are viewable at: http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu ------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from si-list: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field or to administer your membership from a web page, go to: //www.freelists.org/webpage/si-list For help: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'help' in the Subject field List technical documents are available at: http://www.si-list.net List archives are viewable at: //www.freelists.org/archives/si-list or at our remote archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/si-list/messages Old (prior to June 6, 2001) list archives are viewable at: http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu