Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1207026
44 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2020 Schmidt: In terms of the geometry, it is impor- tant that the system that cuts the stencil main- tains the accuracy with tight tolerances. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the circuit boards have come with larger tolerances in the first place. If you imagine you have a stencil system that creates additional tolerances and if those tolerances go in the opposite directions, all of a sudden, you're printing next to your pad and not on your pad anymore, especially with very small components. If the stencil is at the end of the line, it can't add any tolerances, and there are much higher tolerance requirements to the stencil than there ever are on the circuit boards itself because those come with certain toler- ances in the first place. Matties: As we see finer and finer pitch, it seems like maybe the stencil will soon become more of an issue, and we'll see more EMS companies wanting to bring it in-house. Schmidt: We expect to see that through increased awareness of how important the stencil is, and that it can be produced in a well- controlled environment. Large EMS companies have that type of capability, and they're aware of the importance of the manufacturing proce- dures so that they don't leave anything up to chance. Having a stencil cutting system in that environment would guarantee the same qual- ity every time. Matties: And the cost of a stencil from a pro- vider must be pretty affordable as well. Unless there is a pain point there, there's little motiva- tion to move off of it. Schmidt: Right. Matties: You mentioned some EMS companies cutting one stencil a week or something like that. How did you make your case? Mirela Orlowski: If you need only one stencil a week, you do not need a stencil laser in-house. In that case, you would work with a stencil ser- vice supplier. But if you need larger quanti- ties of stencils, it can make sense the bring the entire process inhouse to save cost and to con- trol the manufacturing process end-to-end. Matties: Where is the crossover point on your ROI matrix? Schmidt: It depends on the exact cost for the buyer, but typically in the area of three to five stencils a day, they can easily make this cost model work. If they look at all the different costs that are around manufacturing a stencil, they would see immediate improvement. There are two parts. One is the ROI to pur- chase their own equipment for the EMS or OEM, but the secondary issue, which is more worrisome and requires more industry educa- tion, and that is the general awareness of how important quality stencils are in the first place. Even if somebody only buys a handful of sten- cils a week, they may not need to have their own equipment for this, but they should have a vested and well-managed interest in how the stencil is manufactured, including to what standards. Johnson: Even if you don't want to go in-house, make sure that you know a lot about what your stencil provider is doing. Schmidt: Correct. When you call Uber, you want a qualified driver, not somebody who got their driver's license last week and didn't make the insurance payment for their car. As a con- sumer, we should be educated about the service that we have been provided, and it's important