A physical template placed over a bare board during assembly. It has cutouts corresponding to component pads or text areas. Solder paste or silkscreen ink is pushed through the openings using a squeegee, ensuring the material only lands exactly where needed.
The paste volume is too low on the fine-pitch parts, so we might need to order a thinner screen mask.
Also heard as
- stencil
Related terms
Stencil
Thin laser-cut metal sheet used to print solder paste onto board pads before parts are placed.
Solder paste
Mix of fine solder powder and flux printed onto pads to hold parts in place and form the joints in reflow.
Silkscreen
Printed ink layer on a board showing reference designators, outlines, polarity marks and logos.
SMT
Surface mount technology: soldering components onto pads on the board surface instead of through holes.