Eagle PCB and holes

[Hest]

Hello

I'm new to Eagle and designing PCB's, but I have made my first design and have found good tips around here.

One thing I'm still not sure about is holes in Eagle.

If I make a hole with the hole tool, will there still be a soldering area around it? I have a 0,6mm line and 0,6mm hole, but on the design it doesn't look like there is anything around the hole.

Should I instead make holes with via's? I read somewhere that that would give a better area around the hole.

Is a via always connected from top to bottom layer or do I have to make my own connections after I receive the pcb? I'm thinking about letting a company make the boards for me because I don't need that many and don't want the mess with making them.

Thanks, I hope you can help me a little so I can finish my board.

 

[TBennettcc]

I would use VIAs. I believe they are always connected to both the top and bottom layer. I don't remember ever using the hole tool. I can't imagine what you would use it for, unless you had a specific connector with mounting pins on it to ensure correct alignment.

As far as PCB manufacturers, you might look into BatchPCB (I think this is who SparkFun uses) or Proto Circuits of Florida, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, FL. (I don't have any experience with either of them, but the local Emergency Operations Center used Proto Circuits to make a large batch of PCBs for something.)

Good luck.