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Stencil Printing

Author: eMB

Date: 27 Nov 2006

Why do the laser cut nickel stencils perform better than standard stainless steel stencils?

Basically, the quality of the raw material is more conducive to lead-free processing. Laser cut nickel material is produced by an electroforming process where an even, small granular and stress-free material structure is ensured. When this material is then cut with lasers, a relatively fine roughness is left behind on the cutting surface.

The different composition of lead-free pastes and their flux chemistries have resulted in materials that have a much higher viscosity, or stickiness, than their lead-rich predecessors. The laser cut nickel stencil’s apertures have a fine wall roughness, which influences the paste behavior positively and the material releases from the stencil more completely than it does with standard stencil materials. DEK’s testing has shown that surfaces that are either too smooth or too rough influences the “sticking effect” of lead-free paste materials negatively.

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