Laser Etching SMT Stencils Tutorial

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Thanks to Felix for sending in this blogtip! Check out the full tutorial here.

f you make PCBs and have any SMT components you likely need an SMT stencil to apply solder paste and then bake everything in an oven to reflow the paste. I’ve previously written an extensive tutorial on how to etch metal stencils from soda can material, still very popular, dirt cheap to make and pretty quick once you get a feel for it – it produces very high and extremely durable metal stencils. I’ve been literally using chemically etched soda can stencils thousands of times making Moteinos before I moved to stainless steel commercial stencils.

In this blog post I want to show you my new method that I’ve been using since I’ve purchased a laser cutter from china. It’s using the laser to etch stencils out of transparency plastic (mylar). Chances are that you already have membership or access to a local workshop or hackerspace where a laser cutter is available, so you can give this a try. The trick is to balance the power vs speed of the laser at that sweet spot where it won’t burn the plastic or over/under etch the pads. And for those really wondering why in the world I don’t order from OSHStencils (not affiliated with OSHPark) or similar affordable online services – some of it is explained in the video but mainly because instead of waiting a few days I can do it in 5 minutes, and the flat mylar allows making letter sized stencils. Don’t get me wrong, I support and use the OSHPark PCB service but I prefer to etch my own stencils on the fly on my laser, it’s really convenient and allows for errors and retries without another few days of waiting. Plus, I can do in mylar what they can’t in thin curvy kapton.

If laser etching is not an option for you, read below for another alternative method that yields great stencils from plastic transparency mylar.

Read the full tutorial here.


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