In episode 80 of Hardware Startups with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna drill into the unsung hero of PCB assembly: the solder paste stencil. They explain how a laser-cut stainless steel sheet, just one hundred fifty microns thick, determines whether a prototype works on first power-up or ends up in the rework pile. The conversation centers on a specific case: a medical-device startup that reduced tombstoning defects from twelve percent to under one percent by switching from electroformed to laser-cut stencils and optimizing aperture geometry. Lucas walks through the physics of paste release, the role of area ratio (the critical 0.66 threshold), and why step stencils solve the mixed-component problem. Luna pushes back on the cost-benefit trade-off for early-stage teams. The episode also touches on stencil cleaning frequency, stainless vs. nickel alloy, and the hidden cost of poor paste volume consistency. A practical, numbers-driven look at a process most hardware founders don't think about until it breaks their build.
#HardwareStartups #SolderPaste #StencilPrinting #PCBAssembly #ElectronicsManufacturing #Tombstoning #MedicalDevice #Prototyping #Manufacturing #YieldImprovement #SMTAssembly #ApertureDesign #AreaRatio #StepStencil #LaserCut #BusinessAndTechnology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast
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