At first I was determined not to enter this discussion, however, in light of
recent communications, I would like to raise the following questions to
those who believe that removal of non functional pads is beneficial : 

1) Why do you prefer to remove non functional pads, is this to allow a
higher      track density at the design phase ???  

2) Do you design the layers with non functional pads present, rout the
tracks to    maintain critical spacing and then delete them ???  

3) Do you verify these designs with your supplier(s) before product launch ???

    In my experience, in cases where non functional pads have been removed,
it has been to allow the routing of tracks closer to the holes than would
otherwise be permitted should the non functional pads be present. Such
design rules often neglect the reasons for having a pad larger than the
drill size in the first place. Especially notorius appears to be a recent
trend towards connectors that require the use of a 50 mil staggered via
pitch. Sounds like it's time for the designers, connector suppliers and pwb
suppliers to talk. (shades of ESI)

R.S.V.P.

D. Rooke
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D. Rooke
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