pads on inner pads

If you don't have copper there, is there a risk that there will be a gap between the prepreg layers that would prevent making a "clean plated hole" ?

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So at the edge of a trace or pad there is an air space??? I think when the board is made it is solid everywhere. When the drill bit cuts through there are no gaps at the layer boundaries. The actually use a bunch of pressure, no?

onsdag den 7. april 2021 kl. 02.31.36 UTC+2 skrev John Larkin:

you don't need pads, and some PCB manufacturers will even remove them

I'd like to minimize capacitance of the relay contacts:

No, the inner layers don't need pads. The hole plating will be fine without them.

Thanks. I guess it will be filled with solder too.

onsdag den 7. april 2021 kl. 04.18.13 UTC+2 skrev snipped-for-privacy@highlandsniptechnology.com:

I guess the easy way without having to figure out how to do it without angering the DRC is to just make the footprint with minimum annular ring

Yeah. Four of the pins need to have thermals to the layer 2 ground plane. So minimal annular ring will have to do.

onsdag den 7. april 2021 kl. 21.15.05 UTC+2 skrev John Larkin:

some CAD programs have an option to remove non-functional pads

it's better if the program can do while routing a bit more room for routing a connector or for the vias to not cut up the planes under a fine pitch BGA