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Core concepts
Pad
A small area of exposed copper where a component is soldered.glossary, Core concepts
The metal spot on a part where it connects to the board; tracks end on pads.glossary, Physical / electrical concepts
How it looks
Real image: CORE3588, rendered by KiCad from our board file
Bare pads on CORE3588, top side, 4 x 3.5 mm, from the socket (J1) the computer module plugs into. This spot is empty in the render, so the pads show.
- 1One pad: a bare copper strip, 0.2 x 1.2 mm. A pin of the module socket will be soldered onto it.
- 2A whole row of them, 0.4 mm apart: the dark green between them is board with coating, where solder will not stick.
Real image: CORE3588, rendered by KiCad from our board file
Two more kinds of pad: a gold test pad and the hidden pads under a part.
- 1A round 1.5 mm pad with nothing soldered to it: a test point we can touch with a probe.
- 2A resistor sitting on its two pads; the pads hide under its silver ends.
How it works
Where it fits
A footprint is a part's set of pads. Pads joined by copper form a net; tracks end on pads, and a via has a small pad on each side.