How can I route a trace from a SMD pad to a pin header pad in PCB document

[gamingwheelbarrow]

(I would like to profess that I'm a complete beginner) I'm working on a design that needs custom solder pads which would need to be connected to a grounding pin. I was wondering if thats actually possible, as I've tried to no avail, I'm not even certain if the smd pads are placed correctly. Thank you for any help you can give.

[jorge_garcia]

Hello @gamingwheelbarrow ,

I hope you're doing well. Welcome to the world of Electronics. So if you look at the first picture y5... your GND pad is already connected to the GND polygon. You'll notice that the GND pad is connected with a plus sign of copper. This is called a thermal connection and helps improve soldering reliability by allowing heat to build up at the pad avoiding cold solder joints.

Copper pours (polygons) will connect using thermals to any pads within it's boundary using thermal connections like I just described. That's the default behavior.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[gamingwheelbarrow]

Hello Mr Garcia I figured out how to place the pads onto the PCB, my only
issue now is that I need the pads to be positioned up against the yellow
outer outline. Is there any way of doing this without needing to change the
design entirely?

Thank you, David
[image: image.png]

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @gamingwheelbarrow ,

I hope you're doing well. The image didn't come through but it sounds like you want the vias to go all the way to the edge of the board. For this go into the Rules Editor and make sure the Board Outline clearance is set to 0. Also when placing the vias down you can use the ignore violators mode that will let you place the vias wherever you want. You can find the violators control on the middle toolbar at the bottom of the screen on the right. By default it's set to push violators.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Best Regards,