PCB – Why Use Triangular Solder Jumper Pads

kicadpcb

My PCB layout program of choice – Kicad – has footprints for normal rounded solder jumpers; but also triangular ones.

Examples of solder jumper pads

What benefits, if any, do the triangular ones offer? Or is it a purely aesthetic choice? Seems to me that the triangular ones would be more annoying; that they would be more difficult to clear of solder.

Best Answer

For the same height of pad, the angled ones provide a higher length of the gap, meaning simply that there's a higher chance to find a random spot where the solder creates an initial bridge, before surface tensions "pulls" the solder to connect across almost the full height.

Also, but this is more speculation than the previous sentence, the concave part might lead to a solder blob is centered at the "dent", minimizing the gap distance, further increasing likelihood of a successful solder bridging.