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New stencil technology improves paste release and definition
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Tecan
: 21 June, 2006 (New Product) |
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Subtle stencil design enhancements have been introduced by leading specialist manufacturer Tecan, actively promoting better aperture filling and printed deposit definition, leading to improved consistency across the printing process. |
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Subtle stencil design enhancements have been introduced by leading specialist manufacturer Tecan, actively promoting better aperture filling and printed deposit definition, leading to improved consistency across the printing process.
Ongoing development and optimisation has led to the implementation of a proprietary technique known as Paste Roll Activation across the company's range of enhanced stencils, including electroformed, precision etched and laser-formed variants. PRA is effectively a micro-fine pattern created on the squeegee side of the stencil which has been designed to significantly improve paste roll. The PRA wave pattern assists in activating and 'conditioning' the paste to improve its rheology. This paste conditioning also extends the printing life of the paste.
Effective paste roll is an important pre-requisite for successful solder paste printing and the PRA pattern encourages paste roll within 5mm to10mm of the start of the printing stroke, thereby reducing the run-on and run-off distances which ultimately increases the print area. The PRA pattern delivers a better aperture filling capability than non-PRA stencils and is proven to be particularly beneficial for fine pitch applications in both leaded and lead-free production.
The company recognises that optimum paste condition is critical to the printing process. In response, it has also developed highly-polished electroformed squeegee blades that help to overcome rheology problems associated with no-clean and less dense lead-free pastes. These specialised squeegees reduce paste hang-up when the squeegee has completed the print stroke. They are designed to optimise performance when used in conjunction with PRA stencils to ensure that apertures with even the smallest dimensions are filled appropriately. |
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