PCB stencils on the cheap (kinda)

Adf4350 Finished

PCB stencils on the cheap (kinda). ShareBrained writes –

I have these Avery mailing labels that I use to address Chronulator kit shipments to my customers. They’re made of paper, and they stick to stuff. What if I cut my stencil from a mailing label? Let’s give it a try…

To start with, I need to prepare a solder paste template. I output a PDF with the paste layers shrunk a bit. I shrink the paste layer because the mailing label is quite thick, and therefore so is the paste when it’s applied. So I need to compensate for the thick paste by making the paste areas smaller.

From the paste template file, I laser the mailing label with the Epilog 45W laser at work. My settings are “speed 25″ and “power 25″. I use raster mode, as it tends to produce more accurate, even results.


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