StenTech is a leading-edge company with the latest in stencil technology. StenTech is the established industry leader, supplying quality Laser Cut stencils to the Surface Mount Technology (SMT) industry. With many manufacturing facilities, we employ dedicated and quality driven team members across North America. Offering exceptional Quality, Delivery and Service, we have proudly earned the respect of our many customers.

We offer our knowledge and experience to all of our customers. StenTech has manufactured over half a million stencils and offers a wealth of design and manufacture expertise. Our CAD experts combine industry designs and modification rules, honed by customer feedback and experimental development, with your own specific design requirement and preference to produce stencils that are right the first time. And, we have our own StenCAD software, which allows us to accurately predict the transfer efficiency of paste/stencil aperture combinations and apply design rules to the stencil in order to optimize paste deposit repeatability - so essential when dealing with fine features and micro-scale devices.

Our highly repeatable, accurate printing performance required for laser stencil manufacturing technology:

• Is best in class for positional accuracy
• Is best in class for aperture tolerance
• Is equipped with maximized paste transfer efficiency for optimum paste deposit repeatability and minimal under stencil wiping
• Has stepped area(s) for optimized paste volume deposition
• Has ultrafine pitch capability
• Has laser cut apertures that have been proven to exhibit minimal to no burring, which improves solder paste release
• Is in a fiber diode laser - the laser beam has been reduced from .0023" to .0008", which produces a smoother aperture wall and in turn improves solder paste release
• Has laser cut stencils that can be shipped the same day if approval is received by 2pm

Using the industries latest laser technology, these stencils are highly repeatable to provide accurate print performance.

StenTech Nickel Laser Cut (SNL) provides the hardness of the electroform with the quality of a Fibre Diode laser. Electroform blanks are formed and stocked at each location to provide quick-turn SNL stencils. SNL stencils have been proven to require less cleaning and to last longer than stainless steel products.

StenTech Nickel Laser Cut Stencils offer:

• High accuracy and repeatability
• Enhanced ultrafine pitch capability
• Minimized under stencil cleaning requirements, thanks to positive underside gasketing
• Customer thickness capability to optimize transfer efficiency
• Stepped area(s) for optimized paste volume deposit
• Long stencil life – up to twice that of stainless steel stencils
• Nickel stencils can also be shipped the same day, depending on approval and stock availability

StenTech Nickel Laser Cut (SNL) stencils provide the hardness of the electroform with the quality of a Fiber Diode laser.

Electroforming is a process of producing metal/stencil/parts by depositing atom by atom. Through this process, a highly accurate replica is produced from a mandrel or master surface.

Electroforming also stands out in terms of high repeatability and complexity. Electroform stencils can be manufactured to any thickness from 2-7 mil with 0.01-mil increments.

StenTech has the capacity to produce electroform stencils, foils and nickel parts, as well as 3D parts, which have been serving aerospace, military and medical industries with high quality products exceeding the expectations of our partners/customers for many years.

Benefits:

• Precise and controlled process
• Custom thickness can be achieved
• Very smooth trapezoidal walls
• Better release of paste compared to laser-cut or chem-etched
• Provides fine and ultrafine pitch apertures with paste transfer efficiencies at 95% and above
• Provides longer stencil life (electroform stencils are generally 1.5 times harder than stainless steel of comparable thickness)
• Nickel electroform offers lower coefficient of friction compared to steel, which allows better roll of paste and decreases squeegee wear
• Stencils with large aperture counts/dense images can be done without metal distortion (no heat transfer)
• Absolutely no burr (no need of buffing or polishing)
• Thickness of stencil range from 0.001" to 0.008" in 0.0001" increments and with multi-steps
• Positional accuracy 0.002" over 16" image area

Electroform Stencil Limits:

Note: Thickness tolerance is based on the design (image). These are the max tolerance limits with in the image area.

Electroforming is an additive process whereas the other forms of stencils are a subtractive process. These stencils provide high accuracy, durability and long life for high volume printing applications.

StenTech has the technical ability to manufacture step stencils in both single and dual process. Today's complex PCBs with their various components require different solder paste volumes. By using various foil thicknesses on the same stencil, this allows the ability to control solder paste deposit in fine pitch areas while printing sufficient solder on coarse pitch areas.

Steps are typically chem-etched on the stencil foil before laser cutting the aperture. Steps can also be achieved on electroformed stencil.

Benefits:

• Step stencils provide optimum solder paste volume control
• Step stencil can eliminate two print processes in some cases (when some components on the same board need higher paste height/volume compared with other areas)
• Single step stencil can replace multiple stencils (using step process we can have multiple images at different thickness on same stencil)
• Stencils with relief pocket-step in the area of protrusions will solve the problem of gasketing, paste smearing and risk of electrical short
• Multiple steps can be achieved including step on squeegee side and relief on board side on the same stencil

By using various foil thicknesses on the same stencil, this allows the ability to control solder paste deposit in fine pitch areas while printing sufficient solder on coarse pitch areas.

StenTech now offers the latest technology with our savvy High Definition Print stencils. These stencils are the answer to smaller component issues and offer improved solder paste release. After extensive research and development, we were able to come up with a solution to cater to the smaller components. HDP stencils showed a great print quality on smaller pitch parts with a low standard deviation.

With the introduction of 0201, 01105, 0.4mm and 0.3mm, BGA’s positional accuracy of the stencil is vital.

The High Definition Print stencil was manufactured by working closely with a cell phone manufacturer. With improved tension and laser settings, the prints meet the high demands of the cell phone industry.

Innovative laser cutting using fine grain steel with stainless steel mesh generates stencils that produce quality prints on smaller pitch parts with a low standard deviation.

StenTech HDP Stencils: your solution to smaller pitch components.

StenTech now offers the latest technology with our savvy High Definition Print stencils. These stencils are the answer to smaller component issues and offer improved solder paste release.

StenTech’s Advanced Nano stencil has a highly unique and patented coating that is applied to the bottom side of the stencil AND inside the apertures; however, the squeegee remains uncoated. This advanced coating provides the stencil with anti-adhesion properties.

StenTech’s Advanced Nano stencil utilizes a specialized 1-2 µm hardened nano coating inside every aperture and on the bottom side of the stencil. This permanent hydrophobic coating repels solder paste.

Benefits:

• Higher volume of paste release
• More uniform shape on solder deposits
• Higher transfer efficiency and print yields
• Greater yields on low-area-ratio/miniaturized applications
• Higher screen printer thru-put and lower residual material costs due to reduced underside wiping
• Reduced surface energy of the paste contact area
• Better contour definition and lower failure
• Solder paste bridging is minimized as well, which leads to higher process stability and lower failure rates

Optimized aspect and area ratio significantly reduces the adhesion of the solder paste on the bottom side of the stencil and inside the apertures. Therefore, the contour definition of the solder paste deposit is improved and constant transferred solder paste volumes are realized.

The unique “easy-to-clean” surface of the Advanced Nano Coating stencil significantly reduces the adhesion of the solder paste on the bottom side of the stencil and inside the apertures. Solder paste bridging is minimized, which leads to higher process stability and lower failure rates.

StenTech's Advanced Nano stencil is a highly unique and patented coating that is applied to the bottom side of the stencil and inside the apertures to provide the stencil with anti-adhesion properties.

Mini stencils are small stencils that are used mainly for BGA rework. Mini stencils are designed to deposit precise amounts of solder paste for single BGA footprints on loaded PCBs. These precision stencils mimic the footprint and aperture sizes used in the original production stencil. StenTech mini stencils come with holders and squeegee blades, used for placing solder paste on the pads of components being reworked.

StenTech has the capability to create rework stencils for all types of components, from BGAs to BLAH, using either Gerber data or mechanical drawings.

Our mini stencil design is flexible enough to operate with a dedicated BGA rework system, as well as for use in manual printing.

StenTech's mini stencils have been designed for optimum stability and flatness and cannot contaminate surrounding areas. We use side reinforcements to prevent side-to-side shift, and front ramps to prevent solder paste spillage.

All of our mini stencils are provided with custom squeegee blades fabricated to precisely fit the particular mini stencil.

Flat plates or mounted flat plates on a mini stencil are also available. These would be used when the board has a lot of space around the components.

Other uses for mini stencils include:

• IC and QFP rework
• Heat-sink epoxy application
• Short runs for small prototypes
• Flux application
• 2nd assembly thru-hole reflow
• Small stencils that are used mainly for rework

StenTech’s Mini stencils: a big answer in a small package for BGA rework.

Mini stencils are small stencils that are used mainly for BGA rework. Mini stencils are designed to deposit precise amounts of solder paste for single BGA footprints on loaded PCBs.

Emulsion screens are one of the oldest forms of printing, and remain the most versatile to this day. Emulsion screens begin with a frame. The mesh is stretched onto this frame, and then the emulsion is applied. The mesh is then imaged, ready for printing. Emulsion screens are used in many forms and industries, such as automotive and microelectronics; these industries require precise and accurate deposits and line widths. StenTech's screens are manufactured to maintain these specifications. The main application area of emulsion screens are display and advertising, aerospace, microelectronics, textile printing, ceramic printing, circuit boards and glasses. StenTech offers a full range of mesh for every application.

There are different weaves and thread thicknesses of mesh. Fabrics are available in polyester, stainless steel, nickel mesh and a nickel-polyester combination.

Emulsion Screens are used in many forms and industries, such as automotive and microelectronics. These industries require precise and accurate deposits and line widths.

VectorGuard® has taken all of the advantages of framed-mounted stencil systems (easier and more efficient storage, elimination of frame returns for credit, and recycling and automatic foil tensioning) and improved upon them to create an engineering masterpiece.

Surrounded by a thin, aluminum extrusion, VectorGuard® stencils achieve increased rigidity, ease of use and operator safety. Mounting has also been made simpler by minimal training and short mounting time. No teeth, slot or hole alignment required - all alignment is handled automatically. The greater rigidity of VectorGuard® stencils enables immediate washing of stencils, once removed from the frame, without a washing jig. You will require a holder for the VG Foil.

Benefits:

• Space-efficient storage
• VectorGuard® storage cassette reduces space by 75% compared to other conventional stencils
• Safe, easy handling
• Excellent rigidity: foils can be washed after being released from frame
• Global, standardized design and manufacturing network

The VectorGuard® is flexible, cost-effective, innovative, offers superior performance and is easy-to-use.