What to Look for In a Stencil PCB Seller?

7th Feb 2021

he overall quality of thestencil PCByou use when depositing solder paste for tiny SMT components is vital. The stencil will determine how much solder paste (volume) is deposited on the PCB. No matter how small or big the aperatures, the type of stainless steel and the cut quality of the stencil will play a huge role in how much solder paste is deposited in the SMTs.

What are Stencils?

Stencils in the PCB industry are thin stainless-steel sheets with circular patterns cut into them. These patterns match the surfaces of the Surface Mount Devices (SMDs) required that are to be used on the PCB. Soldering professionals use stencils to make the process of applying solder paste to the surface mount components much easier during PCB assembly. In surface mount assembly, PCB stencils are vital for correct and repetitive solder paste depositions.

The Problem with Solder Paste

Inconsistent solder paste being deposited on SMTs is a very common issue that many soldering professionals struggle with. Excess solder paste deposition causes solder bridging, requiring expensive rework as well as other challenges. Thick stencils will deposit higher volumes of solder paste on the boards. So, picking stencils with the appropriate thickness and the correct aperture sizing are vital.

Making the Most of Stencil Technology
To get the best depositions of solder paste, soldering professionals must use the most-advanced stencil PCB. A high-quality PCB stencil explicitly designed for printing solder paste onto PCBs (by hand) can make life easier for any soldering and electronic assembly professional by -
Eliminating hand soldering errors.
Reducing assembly time.
Top PCB stencil sellers offer custom-made stencils for their clients’ unique printed circuit boards (they use their clients’ CAD files to do so). Customization reduces the amount of effort and time needed to deposit the paste.
Diminish Project Costs
Dealing with PCB Stencil Sellers
There are many PCB Stencil sellers in the market who specially design framed/frameless stencils for manual paste depositions. However, partnering with one seller can make life easier for SMT project managers. Here’s what these manufacturers need to look for in PCB Stencil sellers –
The seller must offer SMT metal stencils with suitably-sized squeegee blades.
The stencil’s design, thickness, composition, size, shape of its apertures, and other features should be customizable.
The seller must offer Stencil Frame Patterns.
Nickel or stainless-steel stencils offer the best quality outputs. So, look for sellers that offer stencils made of ultra-fine grain versions of these materials. Ultrafine grain stencils are likelier to have smoother aperture walls and more efficient release characteristics.
The stencils must come with proper guidelines and manuals on potential printing issues.
Choosing sellers who have experience in stencil design is always the safer option.
Access to all the commonly used stencil types like - framed stencils, frameless stencils, rework stencils, SMT prototype stencils, desktop stencils, etc.
Picking a reliable stencil seller is crucial. Or else, meeting the assembly challenges of miniaturized components and tightly packed boards will be extremely difficult.