How can I tell whether an SMT/SMD capacitor is oriented with plates horizontal or vertical?

Is there an industry standard for showing how plates in the SMT cap are oriented? How can you tell if it is a square-rectanguloid instead of being flattish in one dimension?

November 3, 2023

You can buy specially marked ones from ATC (American Technical Ceramics, and now owned by AVX, which is in turn owned by Kyocera) if you want to do this.
Or simply choose capacitors that are not square in cross-section, so the orientation can be distinguished even without markings.
Some datasheets have pictures that help if the cap is thinner.

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Oliver Smith

Oliver is an experienced electronics engineer skilled in PCB design, analog circuits, embedded systems, and prototyping. His deep knowledge spans schematic capture, firmware coding, simulation, layout, testing, and troubleshooting. Oliver excels at taking projects from concept to mass production using his electrical design talents and mechanical aptitude.

Oliver Smith

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