My PCB manufacturer has requested that the paste mask for the centre pad of a QFN chip be reduced in size and that evenly distributed apertures be added to prevent the component rising during reflow and affecting the integrity of the outer terminal connections.
Is this possible within Easy-PC, or will I have to buy third party gerber editing software such as GC-PrevuePlus? GraphiCode have assured me that their software will do the job, but if there is a trick to doing it within Easy-PC then it may save repeating the exercise after future board revisions.
You add a solder paste mask as an additional layer. Once you hace done that you can add "closed shapes (rectangles etc) in that layer to create "evenly distributed apertures" although I have never come across this requirement before.
You can adjust the solder paste layer relative/absolute size with respect to the copper padspads in Design Tech => Layer Types, or in the "pads only" setting in the plotting dialog box.
Paste Mask Exception
Posted - 28 Jun 2013 : 09:47:59
