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42 SMT Magazine • May 2015 the presented methodology can be used to find the most suitable solutions for a solder paste printing process. It is suggested that each manu- facturing site performs their own investigations by utilizing these methods since the presented results here most likely not will be useful to copy. C. Maintenance, Verification and Troubleshooting With the presented reference boards it is also possible to understand the printing process even better by also considering: • Maintenance challenges • Verification and troubleshooting The utilization of the presented reference boards can be used for a status-based mainte- nance (i.e., certain maintenance is performed when needed, instead of being based on a time- schedule). This can be achieved by using the reference boards on a regular basis and analyz- ing the results to quickly see when a process is deviating from the intended quality levels. By setting routines for this and escalation points, SOLDER PaSTE PRINTING: QUaLITy aSSURaNCE mETHODOLOGy continues Feature figure 12: Test board for step stencil test. Figure 13: Step stencil with stepped area in center. Figure 14: print result—print direction: from left to right. Table 2: pad size and pitch for the pads close to the center area.