eaglepcb
I've seen many devices with spade-like connectors (DC Jacks, AV connectors, etc.) such as below:
The datasheet for the above connector has the follow pad layout:
However, there is no drill hole / line cutout on the pads. Is there a way in Eagle to specify a line cutout rather than a drill hole so the board house knows what to do?
Making drill holes makes it very hard for the solder to adhere onto the connector, because there are huge semi-circle gaps around the flat connector.
Yes, this is done in the DRC settings. One of the parameters sets how far traces must be from board edges, which includes the edges of unconnected holes. I don't remember the exact setting name, but run "drc", look thru the settings, and you should be able to spot it.
You are saying you looked in the DRC but didn't find it. It's actually quite obvious and one of only two setting under the "Distance" tab:
EAGLE has no say over the outcome of the thickness of the actual copper layers themselves, since you'll be etching the board yourself and you're the one picking the copper board stock. However, you can increase the size of the annular ring to give yourself more room to drill a hole close to the center of a PTH.
Using the Info tool (the button that is the letter i), click on the PTH you are interested in and adjust the Diameter from auto to another value that is greater than your Drill size. Click Apply and visually inspect the hole - if it's still not as much copper as you want, increase the Diameter again until it's as thick as you want.
If you want to do this to all your PTHs, just use the Change tool, go to Diameter, and click the ... option at thebottom to set a custom value. This would ideally be the Diameter you chose when playing around with a single PTH. Then just start clicking on the other PTHs you want to update them.
This will only work, however, on PTHs you defined manually on the board layout. If some PTHs are part of the part's package, for example, you will have to edit their Diameter manually in the package itself, not in the board layout.
Best Answer
I wouldn't try to make slots. Just make a hole with a diameter as the size of the slot and it will work. You could always look for the same SMT varient...