TearDropSelectedPads

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to add teardropping to, or remove teardropping from, pads and/or vias and/or tracks in the active design. Teardrops are often added to a routed PCB design to create stronger track-to-pad, track-to-via and track-to-track connections. This is valuable when the the design objects are very small, and is particularly valuable for drilled pads and vias, because mis-alignment between the drill center and the pad/via center can result in the drill hole removing much of the copper connecting the track to the pad/via (a phenomenon known as drill breakout).

Access

This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by choosing the Tools » Teardrops command, from the main menus.

Use

If you want to add/remove teardropping from selected objects only, first ensure those objects (pads, vias, tracks) are selected in the workspace, prior to running the command.

After launching the command, the Teardrops dialog will appear. Use this dialog to define the mode (adding or removing), and the scope of teardropping as required. Any or all of Vias (and round Thru-Hole Pads), SMD Pads (and non-round Thru-Hole Pads), Tracks, and T-Junctions (and neck-down junctions) can be scoped. Teardropping is created from Region objects instead of Track or Arc objects. This allows each teardrop shape to be created from a single region object, which can have straight or curved edges. If you are working with selected objects only, ensure the Selected only option is enabled.

After clicking OK in the dialog, teardrops will be either applied to, or removed from, the applicable objects, in accordance with defined settings.

If you opted to do so, a report (<PCBDocumentName>.REP) will be created. The report will be stored in the same folder as the PCB document and will automatically be opened as the active document. The report shows how many pads and/or vias were visited and how many instances of failed teardrops, along with their designator, location and layer information.

Tips

1. Teardrops are automatically removed whenever an edit action is performed on either the pads/vias or the track. Click and hold on a teardropped pad to observe this behavior.
2. Teardrops can be re-added by re-running the Tools » Teardrops command. There is no need to remove existing teardrops before re-running the command.
3. The report will be added to the Projects panel as a free document, under the Documentation\Text Documents sub-folder.
4. In earlier versions of the software (pre-Altium Designer 14.3) teardrops were created from track and arc objects. If required, this style of teardrop can be added or removed by running the Legacy Teardrops command.