3D printed stencils are the future! Three boards at once with automatic alignment, it doesn’t get better than this!

I bet putting set pins on the stencils to the boards would help

That is so good

Thanks Robin :)

Oh damn i gotta try this

Send me a pic if you do! I’m here to answer and questions and help!

Thanks Will, awesome to see your experiments and process

What thickness of stencil did you find to work best for your boards?

0.08-0.12mm is a good range

Here is my print profile for a 0.2mm nozzle:

Man this is a great idea

Var height support?

Yup you can set it to the height of your board so it fits flush

Could you do var height per component for when we need some components with less paste?

I print the top layer down so that the lip prints properly. I’m sure you can do variable height but not with the lip, meaning you need to use it like a traditional stencil

is this your app?

Yeah I made it when I needed cheap stencils. It’s all free and open source

Would try this if I ever need a stencil. (these days I just order completed PCBA from jlcpcb)

Nice, I’ve yet to order any assembly since I’ve been trying to build out that capacity myself

Clearly now you need a jig to align the hard ones next

Make it in two parts so it snaps together without needing the alignment step. Just place them in the pockets on one side; then it will fit into the pockets on the other. Then it just needs alignment pins that are V-shaped, so it's easier to align

Total Gamechanger.

This is so clever!!

Will try it out! I got a stencil for my next batch and will compare

Awesome let me know how it works for you or if you have any questions! It’s best for 0603 and above

Ah well I'm doing 0402, will it work for that? I will actually just print it out and see, let you know!

👍 print out a few copies at the same time to give it a good chance, sometimes it can foam the first print and the second is flawless

Not great 😩

Try a 0.2mm nozzle if you have it

I’ll share my slicer settings when I get the time!

Thanks man I still have the stencil coming in next week so no rush!

That is pretty wild

Will Stencil

Fuck me bro put the boards in the stencil not the stencil on the boards.

this is awesome work

this is a great idea - why do stencil cost 15 usd and 10000 for shipping

I feel like the point at which I need a stencil is the point at which I'm dealing with pins too small for a 3d printer to resolve

Big stencil doesn’t want you to know about this one simple trick