On Mon, 2010-09-06 at 10:05 -0700, Andrew Poelstra wrote: > > > via > > > > Definitely not primitive. A hole in one or more layers with conductive > > material in it. > > > > Again, while geometrically a via is not primitive, I think that in PCB > terms, a via is primitive. It can exist on several layers, which the > other shapes do not, so it doesn't make sense to build it out of other > shapes.
I think the "concept" of a via (in spanning layers of a 2.5d geometry) is fairly primitive in the PCB world, but I partly agree with John regarding the definition of the geometry. I don't think the copper shape / masking / clearance of the via is necessarily primitive. Granted, in 99.9% of cases it can be described by circular copper geometry on each connected layer, but support for arbitrary pad-stacks for components might as well extend to arbitrary via geometry. I'm pretty sure most holes in PCBs are round, but then some connectors have rectangular cut-outs (probably routed), but possibly stamped / reamed out. /me wonders how long it is before some crafty PCB manufacturers start producing off-axis, slant-drilled vias ;) -- Peter Clifton Electrical Engineering Division, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, 9, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA Tel: +44 (0)7729 980173 - (No signal in the lab!) Tel: +44 (0)1223 748328 - (Shared lab phone, ask for me) _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list geda-user@moria.seul.org http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user