Mar 21, 2003
Tecan reckons it is consistently producing what may be regarded as the most efficient stencils in the world today.
Using leading-edge photo-electroforming (PEF) techniques, stencils are being produced for the most demanding high-volume multicomponent PCB production requirements - ensuring optimum paste release from a single squeegee pass.
Core to the successful deposit of the appropriate amount of paste on every pad, every time, is the cross-sectional shape of the individual aperture - which should ideally be trapezoidal and with smooth side walls.
Also, PEF stencils are produced in nickel which inherently has a lubricational quality, further enhancing paste release.
The manufacturing technique is being increasingly recognised as the optimum and most cost-effective method of producing such stencils in a single manufacturing process, without the need for subsequent post-forming cutting or smoothing operations.
As a recognised world leader, the company has developed and refined its PEF techniques, in part from expertise gained over years in the production of traditional photo-etched stencils and from ongoing industry feedback and development initiatives with high-volume PCB producers, globally.
Additionally, the company has Europe�s most advanced laser cutting machines, in-house.
A thorough understanding of all three capabilities, and their advantages and limitations, results in both versatility and flexibility, all of which bring significant user benefits by providing the most suitable stencil for any application.
A single PEF stencil can be cost-effectively fabricated with areas of different thickness across its surface.
This allows a multitude of different components to be catered for, from the smallest SMT BGA and discreet devices, to power components and connectors - and increasingly to individual silicon die with multiple super-fine termination pads.
In each case, the relationship between the aperture size and the stencil thickness can be optimised for the most advantageous paste quantity and release characteristics.
PEF stencils are proving to be the fastest growing and most widely adopted manufacturing method for modern day, and next-generation, high-volume PCB production needs.
Their adoption engenders shorter product cycle times, reduces manufacturing costs, eliminates secondary flux deposition and negates the need for subsequent hand or wave soldering.
Standard delivery is three days, with next-day and same-day delivery offered as premium services.
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