Great ideas for the practitioner of high technology, high performance assembly. Looking at: Rework & Repair Selected for: Getting the paste in place If you’ve been using metal stencils for BGA rework, we have some great news for you. Flextac BGA Rework Stencils... a creative new product that is a major improvement over what you may be using now. These flexible solder paste stencils are laser cut from high quality, anti-static polymer film with a residue-free adhesive backing. Because they are self-sticking, no tape or fixturing is needed. The adhesive seals around each BGA pad to prevent solder paste from bleeding under the stencil when the paste is applied. Flextac Stencils are easy to use and leave no residue on the board surface. Typical BGA rework stencils are made from metal and require fixturing or taping to position them and hold them in place. Metal stencils warp easily, and if the circuit board has undulations in the board surface, the metal stencil will not sit flat. Since there is no gasket-like seal, solder paste can easily bleed under metal stencils when paste is applied with a squeegee. Also solder paste can spill out over the sides of flat metal stencils contaminating the circuit board surface. Metal stencils require tedious stencil cleaning. To use metal stencils effectively, a high level of operator skill is required. How Flextac Stencils work The Kit includes 20 different sizes of BGA rework stencils, a spatula handle and three sizes of spatula blades. You first fold the pre-scored side tabs and then peel off the protective cover film from the bottom side of the stencil. Holds the side tabs while placing the Flextac Stencil in position on the circuit board surface. If the stencil is not correctly positioned, you can simply reposition it. The side tabs also serve as solder dams preventing solder paste overspill. No external taping or fixturing is used. You next apply a small dab of solder paste and uses a standard squeegee to spread the paste. Since the residue-free adhesive seals around each BGA pad, you can make as many passes with the squeegee as needed to assure proper aperture filling. The Flextac Stencil is then peeled up leaving a perfect deposit of solder on each pad. Although Flextac Stencils are disposable, they can be used several times. We would be happy to send you a representative sample - ask us! Unit 17 Station Field Industrial Estate, Banbury Road, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 1JD, ENGLAND Tel: +44 (0)1865 842842     Fax: +44 (0)1865 842172 e-mail: info@intertronics.co.uk    www.intertronics.co.uk Read our web log Please don't send any more of these great ideas, thanks!