Modelling the effect of uneven PWB surface on stencil bending during stencil printing process

In the mass assembly of today’s electronic circuits, solder paste is first printed onto the surface of the assembly boards through a metal mask called a stencil. The possible surface differences in level on the PWB, e.g. marking stickers or other protruding objects keep the stencil away from the PWB during stencil printing, can cause excessive printed volume of the solder paste, and solder bridges or other soldering failures can occur after reflow soldering. If these differences in level are not too high or they are sufficiently far from the soldering pads in lateral direction, the stencil can bend down to the pad during stencil printing and the volume of the deposited solder paste will be as expected.In our research a Finite Element Model (FEM) was created to investigate the stencil deformation and to determine the necessary distance between the pads and the local differences in level to achieve complete stencil contact to the PWB. A simple deformation measuring set-up was designed and fitted together to experimentally determine the mechanical parameters of the stencil and the squeegee, which were necessary for the FEM. PWB surface differences in level in the range of 0–90 μm and stencil foil thicknesses varying between 75 and 175 μm were inserted into the FEM as geometrical parameters and simulations were executed to calculate the minimum distances which are necessary to achieve perfect stencil contact to the PWB. The FEM was verified by comparing simulation results to experimental results obtained by real stencil printing.

► Stencil bending during stencil printing was analysed.
► FEM of a printing squeegee was built and verified.
► FEM of a stencil was built and verified by printing experiments.
► Larger keep-out distance is necessary than recommended by standard IPC-7525.
► Expression, based on stencil thickness is given for necessary keep-out distances.