SMD pin to SMD pin DRC errors when adding teardrops

Maybe it's just me, but... I'll ask anyways. Why do you 'teardrop' your SMD pads? Over 30 years in the industry I've NEVER added teardrops to my SMD pins. Or any pins for that matter. Actually I've NEVER added teardrops to my vias either. I do have a note on the fabrication drawing that allows the fabricators to add them in highly-conjested (extra small traces/spaces) areas, but can't say any fabricator has. In my experience, the teardropping thingie comes from PADS, since it was so easy to add in PADS, but NEVER have I done it personally.

BTW - I've worked for a good number of companies too, and have never been asked to add them.

Just curious. Good day.

IMHO: One reason: With small features (i.e. CSP pins) , the failure point of the copper traces will occur at the junction of pad and the route.  This can be related to temperature cycling: the  CTE mis-macth of the PCB, copper and package will create fatigue at this joint.   The teardrop will strengthen  this weak spot.  So in a high reliability case these do become important.   Also it helps to strengthen the pads in rework.

My engineers can rip the pads off boards regardless of teardrops. :) I use them for my destructive testing.

On a serious note though. We've doing severe temp cycling, and don't have the issues you mention. But lately (since my company takes thermal cycling to extremes. why? They don't know.) some of our thru-hole vias are failing. we're now moving to 'copper filled' vias (100%, no voids allowed!) to reliability. But we still don't do teardrops.

My engineers can rip the pads off boards regardless of teardrops. :) I use them for my destructive testing.

On a serious note though. We've doing severe temp cycling, and don't have the issues you mention. But lately (since my company takes thermal cycling to extremes. why? They don't know.) some of our thru-hole vias are failing. we're now moving to 'copper filled' vias (100%, no voids allowed!) to reliability. But we still don't do teardrops.

I truly understand the rip up issue

We have packages that go into various industries, once such area is the Telephony world.  The hardware is designed with a 30 year life expectancy in some very cold (-40 dC) and hot (huts for example +125dC).  The accelerated life test's that are defined in standards like IPC 9701 and the Monotonic bend test's and IPC7902 can be very rigorous to meet. The temperature cycle is one of the test's used to define the expected life of a component mounting.