Stencil printing

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Stencil printing is the process of

depositing solder paste on the printed
wiring boards (PWBs) to establish
electrical connections. It is immediately
followed by the component placement
stage. The equipment and materials
used in this stage are stencil, solder
paste, and a printer.
The stencil printing function is achieved
through a single material namely solder
paste which consists of solder metal and
flux. Paste also acts as an adhesive
during component placement and solder
reflow. The tackiness of the paste
enables the components to stay in place.
A good solder joint is one where the
solder paste has melted well and flowed
and wetted the lead or termination on the
component and the pad on the board.

In order to achieve this kind of a solder

joint, the component needs to be in the
right place, the right volume of solder
paste needs to be applied, the paste
needs to wet well on the board and
component, and there needs to be a
residue that is either safe to leave on the
board or one that can easily be cleaned.

The solder volume is a function of the

stencil, the printing process and
equipment, solder powder, and rheology
or the physical properties of the paste.
Good solder wetting is a function of the
flux.

Printing process
The process begins with loading the
board into the printer. The internal vision
system aligns the stencil to the board,
after which the squeegee prints the
solder paste. The stencil and board are
then separated and unloaded. The
bottom of the stencil is wiped about
every ten prints to remove excess solder
paste remaining on the stencil.

A typical printing operation has a speed

of around 15 to 45 seconds per board.
Print head speed is typically 1 to 8 inches
per second. The printing process must
be carefully controlled. Misalignment of
motion from the reference results in
several defects, hence the board must be
secured correctly before the process
begins. A snugger and vacuum holders
are used to secure the X and Y axes of
the board. Vacuum holders must be
carefully used, as they may affect the pin-
in-paste printing process if not secured
properly.

The longest process is the printing

operation, followed by the separation
process. Post print inspection is crucial
and is usually performed with special 2D
vision systems on the printer or separate
3D systems.

Inputs
Inputs to the process can be classified
as: Design Input, Material Input, Process
parameter Input. The output of the
process is a printed wiring board that
meets the process specification limits.
These specifications usually are
consistent solder paste volume and
height, and printed solder paste aligned
on the PWB pads. This determines the
process yield.

Printed wiring boards

Design

Vision systems in the stencil printing

machines use global fiducial marks for
aligning the PWB. Without these fiducials
the printer would not print the solder
paste in exact alignment with the pads.
The PWB should have close dimensional
tolerances so that it mates to the stencil.
This is necessary to achieve the required
alignment of solder blocks on the pads.

Masking

The required accuracy in alignment can

also be achieved by controlling the flow
of solder on the PWB during reflow
soldering. For this purpose, the space
between the pads is often coated with a
solder mask. The solder mask materials
have no affinity to the molten solder and
hence, no positive bonding is formed
between them as the solder solidifies.
This process is often referred to as
Solder Masking. The mask must be
centered correctly. The mask protects
the PWB against oxidation, and prevents
unintended solder bridges from forming
between closely spaced solder pads.

Also the height of the solder mask

should be lower than the pad height to
avoid gasketing problems as shown. If
the height of the solder mask is greater
than that of the pad, then some of the
solder paste would settle in the empty
space between the mask and the pad.
This is what is referred to as gasketing. It
is a seal that fills the space between two
surfaces to prevent leakages. However,
in this case, the gasketing is a problem
as the excess solder paste around the
pad may be more than a nuisance factor
for circuits having very small line
spacing.

As shown in the adjoining figure, if the

height of the mask is greater than the
pad, it could create the flow of solder
paste around the pad.

Finishing

The pads on the PWB are made of

Copper and are susceptible to
oxidization. Surface oxidization on the
Copper will inhibit the ability of the solder
to form a reliable joint. To avoid this
unwanted effect, all exposed Copper is
protected with a Surface Finish.
Aperture fill and release

The core of a well printed PWB lies in the

fill and release of solder paste into the
aperture. When the stencil is in contact
with the PWB, solder paste is applied
over the top surface of the stencil using a
squeegee. This causes the aperture to fill
with solder paste. The PWB is then
lowered from the stencil. The amount of
solder paste which is released from the
stencil apertures and transferred to the
PWB pads, determines whether or not the
print is good. Ideally, all volumes of
solder paste should be equal to the
volume of the corresponding stencil
aperture. In reality however, this is never
the case. Hence, a print is considered to
be good if a certain fraction of the paste
is released. One way of quantifying print
performance is to calculate the Transfer
Efficiency. This is mathematically stated
as:

Transfer Efficiency=(Volume of printed

deposit)/(Theoretical maximum
volume)

In the above expression, the Theoretical

maximum volume is simply the open
volume of the stencil aperture. Ideally, a
transfer efficiency of 1 is desired. In
reality however, greater the transfer
efficiency, better is the print. Now in
order to get the aperture full of paste
requires sufficient flow rate and
sufficient fill time. Apertures which are
not completely filled will not release
paste onto the board, which results in
clogged stencils and defective solder
joints. Solder paste release is determined
by the separation speed of the board
from the stencil. The adhesion of the
paste to the board has to provide the
shearing force to overcome the adhesion
of the paste to the stencil walls. This
hydrodynamic shearing force depends on
the separation speed.

Stencils
Stencils are used to print solder paste on
the PCB. They are often made of
Stainless Steel or Nickel and are
manufactured by different processes
described below.

Manufacturing processes

Laser cutting

The use of laser technology allows

having tighter tolerances and greater
accuracy.

The aperture walls can be smoothed

through electro-polishing and/or nickel
plating. The laser cutting process results
in trapezoidal apertures that can create
better solder paste release
characteristics.

The repeatability of dimensions in laser-

cut stencils is generally better than that
of chemical etching. With laser cutting,
there are no photo films requiring precise
alignment or protection from moisture.

E-FAB stencil

This stencil is formed by the process of

electroforming nickel. Hence the name E-
FAB. The nickel has better wear
characteristics than steel and
electroforming creates smooth tapered
aperture walls. The process also creates
a ridge along the bottom of the stencil
that can improve stencil-to-board
gasketing and result in more consistent
solder paste release.

Stencil design

Due to the need for fine pitch

components, as the size of the aperture
becomes smaller and smaller, they
become “tall-narrow” apertures. In such
cases, the apertures may be filled with
solder paste but not completely released,
or sometimes not even completely filled
and hence get no deposits. In order to
counter this problem, aperture walls are
made as smooth as possible. Also,
molecular layer nano coatings are put on
the stencil walls so that the solder paste
does not stick. Consistent fill and release
is the most important output of stencil
printing. When the stencil is down on the
board, paste is filling the aperture and it’s
in contact with the pad and walls of the
stencil. The contact is judged by taking
the ratio of these areas i.e. the ratio of
the area of the pad to the area of the
walls. This is called Area Ratio. The
information about the standards for
stencil design is available at IPC
Specification 7525 and other standards.
In general including stencils with tall and
narrow apertures, an area ratio greater
than 0.66 is recommended.
Illustrations of the various dimensions
are provided in the table below:

Pitch Pad Width Aperture Stencil Thickness Aspect Ratio

25 15 12 6 2.0

20 12 9 - 10 5-6 1.7

15 10 7-8 5 1.4

12 8 5-6 4-5 1.2

For fine pitch stencils (<20 mils pitch, 10

mils aperture), even with a 5 mils stencil
which is the most commonly used stencil
thickness, the area ratio is below 1.5.
This necessitates the use of a thinner
stencil. For BGA/CSP and other very
small Apertures, the Area Ratio is used. It
should be greater than 0.66, as this
ensures a high probability of good fill and
release. An area ratio below 0.66 would
mean a much less reliable process.
Examples of area ratios for BGAs are
shown in the table below:

BGA Pad Aperture Thickness Area Ratio

60 mil 32 30 6-8 1.25 - 0.94

50 mil 25 22 6-8 0.92 - 0.69

20 mil 12 10 5-6 0.50 - 0.42

Aperture size should be smaller than the

pad size to avoid the excess solder paste
or production of solder balls. A 10-20%
reduction in aperture size as compared
to the pad size is typical to minimize
solder balls. Solder balls can result in
malfunctioning of the electric circuit.

Example:

A 6 mil stencil is to be designed for 20

mil pitch QFPs and 60 mil BGA.
 (a) What is the pad and aperture width
you would propose for the QFPs? What
is the aspect ratio?
(b) What diameter would you propose
for the pads and apertures for the
BGA? What is the area ratio?
(a) Pad Width = 12 mils; Aperture
Width = 10 mils (based on the first
table)
Aspect Ratio = w/t = 10/6 = 1.67
(b) Pad Diameter = 32 mils; Aperture
Diameter = 30 mils; Area Ratio = D/4t =
30/24 = 1.25

Other considerations

Step down stencils

A PCB may need varying amounts of
solder paste to be applied depending
upon the design and size of components.
Applying a uniform maximum level of
solder may not be a good solution in this
case, as these stencils often find use
when "pin and paste" technology (i.e.,
printing solder paste into through-holes
to avoid wave soldering) and
components of significantly different
pitch are used in the same PWB. For this
purpose, to achieve a varying solder
amount, step down stencils are used.

Solder paste stencil life

Ideally, a solder paste should have, at
minimum, a 4-hour stencil life. The
stencil life is defined as a time period in
which there will be no significant change
in the solder paste material
characteristics. A solder paste with a
longer stencil life will be more robust in
the printing process. Actual stencil life
for a paste should be determined from
the manufacturers' specifications and on-
site verification.

Handling and storage of stencils

Some general guidelines for stencil

handling are mentioned below. They are
particularly useful for improved life and
better performance of stencils.

1. Clean stencils after use, remove any

solder paste on them or within the
apertures.
2. Store the clean stencils in a
designated area. They should not be left
out, as they are more likely to be
damaged.
3. Inspect stencils for wear or damage
before using them.
4. Identify stencils with job numbers.
This reduce the mishandling or
misplacing of stencils.
5. Before printing the solder paste on
pcb, need to place nitto tape on pcb for
trial purpose.

Squeegee

Squeegees are used to spread solder

over the stencil and to fill all apertures
consistently. Squeegees come in two
different types, namely Metal and
Polyurethane. Metal squeegees are
preferred over polyurethane and they
should be used if possible. They produce
very consistent solder volumes and are
resistant to scooping the solder paste
out of the apertures when printing. In
addition, they have better wear
characteristics, leading to longer life.

Handling and storage

The general guidelines for improved life
of squeegees are:

1. Clean squeegee after use

2. After cleaning, store them in
designated areas
3. Inspect for wear and any other
damage before use every time

Common difficulties

Insufficient solder paste

Insufficient solder paste may cause poor

bonds and contact between components
and the board. The common causes of
insufficient solder paste are poor
gasketing, clogged stencil apertures,
insufficient solder paste bead size,
paste/stencil being used beyond
recommended life span, stencil not
wiped clean, or low squeegee pressure.

Smudging/bridging

The main causes of smudging/bridging

are excessive squeegee pressure,
inadequate stencil wiping, poor contact
between the board and stencil, high
temperature or humidity, or low solder
paste viscosity.

Misalignment print

A typical misalignment print is usually

caused by the vision system not spotting
fiducials, PWB or stencil stretch, poor
contact between the board and the
stencil, or weak board support.

Statistical process control

More than 50% of defects in electronics
assembly are due to solder paste printing
problems. There are many parameters
involved in this process, making it
difficult to find the specific problem and
to optimize the process. A careful
statistical study of the process may be
used to improve output significantly. The
number of opportunities for a defect
characterizes defects, not the actual
number of defective parts.
Example:

If solder paste is printed on pads for a

68-pin QFP, then
Total Number of Opportunities for
Defects= 68 pins + 1 for the
component = 69 possible defects for
printing only

Hence, there are 69 opportunities for

defects to produce one defective
component. Counting the defect
opportunities is the most valid process
monitor. Processes are typically rated in
terms of number of defects per million
opportunities (DPM). As an example, a
process resulting in 100 defects when
given 1 million defect opportunities
would have a rating of 100 DPM. World
class printing processes have defect
levels around 20 DPM.

A low DPM printing process may be

achieved by employing statistical
techniques to determine the effects of
individual parameters or interactions
between different parameters. Important
process parameters can then be
optimized using design of experiments
(DOE) techniques. These optimized
parameters can then be implemented
and process bench marking can begin.
Statistical process control can then be
used to continuously monitor and
improve printing DPM levels.
See also
Stencil
Pochoir

References

Further reading
Lasky, Ronald; Hall, W. James; Hickey,
Katherine; Tate, Jennifer (2014).
Handbook of Electronics Assembly and
A Guide to SMTA Certification (1 ed.).
Surface Mount Technology
Association (SMTA). ISBN 978-0-
98888731-2. ISBN 0-98888731-2. [1]
Tarr, Martin (2013). "Screen and stencil
printing" . Online postgraduate courses
for the electronics industry. UK:
University of Bolton. Archived from the
original on 2014-05-28. [2]
Padmanapan, Sakthivel (2014-05-30).
"Workshop on SMT Stencils" (PDF).
Chennai: Surface Mount Technology
Association (SMTA). Archived (PDF)
from the original on 2018-06-17.
Retrieved 2018-06-17.
Mersits, Christopher (2012).
"Investigation of aperture filling and
release for modern developments of
the solder paste stencil printing
process" . State University of New
York, Binghamton / ProQuest
 Dissertations Publishing. pp. 4–5, 9–
10. 1535200.

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