{"id":56594,"date":"2026-08-21T13:23:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smans.com\/?post_type=knowledgeportal&#038;p=56594"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:39:29","slug":"which-solder-paste-should-you-choose-for-stencil-printing","status":"publish","type":"knowledgeportal","link":"https:\/\/smans.com\/en\/knowledgebase\/which-solder-paste-should-you-choose-for-stencil-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"Which solder paste should you choose for stencil printing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"522\">The choice of solder paste directly affects the stencil printing process. The alloy is not the only factor. <strong data-start=\"394\" data-end=\"466\">Powder type, metal content, viscosity, tackiness and paste stability<\/strong> also influence how the paste behaves during production.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"524\" data-end=\"615\">The solder paste should therefore match both the stencil geometry and the process settings.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1c5m1q2\" data-start=\"617\" data-end=\"663\">Powder type and aperture size need to match<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"665\" data-end=\"823\">Solder paste consists of a combination of <strong data-start=\"707\" data-end=\"733\">solder powder and flux<\/strong>. The solder powder is available in different particle sizes, referred to as powder types.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"825\" data-end=\"957\">For stencil printing, <strong data-start=\"847\" data-end=\"876\">type 3, type 4 and type 5<\/strong> are among the types used. The higher the type, the smaller the solder particles.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"959\" data-end=\"1106\">The choice is related to the dimensions of the stencil apertures. Smaller apertures may require a finer powder type to achieve a good print result.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1108\" data-end=\"1364\">This is also related to the <strong data-start=\"1136\" data-end=\"1150\">area ratio<\/strong>. As apertures become smaller in relation to stencil thickness, achieving good paste transfer becomes more challenging. The combination of stencil geometry and solder paste therefore becomes increasingly important.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1t2fh1z\" data-start=\"1366\" data-end=\"1390\">Look beyond the alloy<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1392\" data-end=\"1544\">The alloy influences the melting behaviour of the solder paste, but two solder pastes do not necessarily behave in the same way during stencil printing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1546\" data-end=\"1631\">Properties such as <strong data-start=\"1565\" data-end=\"1596\">metal content and viscosity<\/strong> also influence printing behaviour.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1817\"><strong data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1646\">Tackiness<\/strong> is another relevant property. After components are placed in the printed solder paste, the paste needs sufficient tack to keep them in position before the reflow process.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1819\" data-end=\"1940\">A solder paste therefore needs to perform well both during printing and in the subsequent stages of the assembly process.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"7b0k4e\" data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"1991\">A stable paste contributes to a stable process<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1993\" data-end=\"2151\">During production, solder paste remains on the stencil for a certain period of time. It is therefore important that its properties remain sufficiently stable.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2153\" data-end=\"2317\">Two relevant factors are <strong data-start=\"2178\" data-end=\"2194\">stencil life<\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"2199\" data-end=\"2214\">print pause<\/strong>. A temporary production stop should not make printing behaviour unpredictable when production resumes.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2319\" data-end=\"2406\">Temperature, humidity and drying can also affect the behaviour of the paste during use.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2564\">Solder paste performance should therefore not be assessed based on a single good print alone. Stability throughout the production process is also important.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"n3xn6f\" data-start=\"2566\" data-end=\"2592\">Handling and pre-mixing<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2594\" data-end=\"2682\">Correct handling starts with how the solder paste is stored and prepared for production.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2684\" data-end=\"2827\"><strong data-start=\"2684\" data-end=\"2698\">Pre-mixing<\/strong> can also be part of this preparation. However, there is no universal procedure that can simply be applied to every solder paste.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2829\" data-end=\"2953\">Storage, preparation and mixing should therefore be adapted to the specific solder paste and its corresponding instructions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":56596,"template":"","class_list":["post-56594","knowledgeportal","type-knowledgeportal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Which solder paste should you choose for stencil printing? - Smans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover which solder paste properties matter in stencil printing, from powder type and viscosity to handling and stability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smans.com\/en\/knowledgebase\/which-solder-paste-should-you-choose-for-stencil-printing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which solder paste should you choose for stencil printing? 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