DEK launches new VectorGuard® Double Layer Platinum stencil

Citation

(2010), "DEK launches new VectorGuard® Double Layer Platinum stencil", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 22 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ssmt.2010.21922bad.001

DEK launches new VectorGuard® Double Layer Platinum stencil

DEK launches new VectorGuard^® Double Layer Platinum stencil

Article Type: New products From: Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Volume 22, Issue 2

DEK has extended its popular VectorGuard^® stencil portfolio with the addition of the double layer Platinum stencil, a unique stencil technology offering manufacturers a series of performance benefits over conventional screens. Launched at the Productronica exhibition in Munich, VectorGuard Double Layer Platinum stencils are an ideal solution for semiconductor applications and component manufacture, meeting the needs of production challenges requiring fine line or mixed feature sizes.

DEK has extended its popular VectorGuard^® stencil portfolio with the addition of the double layer Platinum stencil, a unique stencil technology offering manufacturers a series of performance benefits over conventional screens. Launched at the Productronica exhibition in Munich, VectorGuard Double Layer Platinum stencils are an ideal solution for semiconductor applications and component manufacture, meeting the needs of production challenges requiring fine line or mixed feature sizes.

The latest VectorGuard release from DEK is a double layer stencil fabricated through a two-step lithography and nickel electroforming process, before being mounted on VectorGuard tensioning technology. Benefitting from DEK’s specialist CAD expertise, the mesh layer of the two-layer structure serves to hold the stencil intact while accurately controlling the flow of paste to the second layer. The circuit layer determines the thickness and shape of the print deposits to deliver high tolerance, fine dimension printing. Ideal for accuracy-critical applications such as solar cell manufacture or low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) manufacture, the double layer stencil incorporates the advantages of VectorGuard stencil technology to create a screen alternative that generates a tenfold increase in product lifetime.

VectorGuard Double Layer Platinum stencils feature a wide range of advantages over conventional screen technologies, including the ability to print long conductive lines without diminishing stencil strength. In addition, the system incorporates numerous advantages for microelectronics packaging specialists. Ideal for multi-layer technologies such as LTCC, the new VectorGuard technology reduces this two-step process down to just one by combining filling and inner layer printing stages. Substantially easier to clean and maintain than a screen, the double layer stencils harness the potential of VectorGuard tensioning to generate dimensional accuracy better than 0.1μm/mm. The new DEK stencil also incorporates all the operational advantages of the reusable, recyclable VectorGuard system, including ease-of-use, system rigidity and operator safety. The system also delivers numerous space-saving storage advantages and is complemented by the VectorGuard Cabinet and VectorGuard Workstation.