IPC Apex Series, Day 2, Interview 7- Gayle Towell

Gayle Towell brings the education. Seriously, between two (2!) Masters degrees, teaching, and scientific journalism, she is an explaining machine! If you are newer to surface mount and want to learn more about the miniaturization of solder paste and stencil thickness, this interview really gives a great overview. Learn how solder balls are made, how they interact with stencils and the process of selecting what Type of paste to use.

Join Sean Kincaid and Daniel Stanphill as they get schooled together by Gayle and Elias Malfavon Jr., with his stencil expertise and customer feedback he obtains to consistently drive best practice improvements.

Many people are out here working with area ratio and stencil thickness as their primary concerns. When you start getting into the smaller apertures on the thinner stencils, rather than focusing just on the 5 ball rule for width of aperture, you have to start considering the height of the aperture as well. Imagine dealing with such small apertures that Type 3 solder balls are actually taller than the height of the stencil, leading to shearing effects and insufficient transfer.

Also, if you love sharing and teaching about SMT concepts, you just might have a superpower you didn't know about... Gayle knows hers!

#smt #pcb #problemsandsolutions #solderpaste #pcbassembly