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miniature hole punches.

Anyone know where I can find miniature square and circular hole punches the size of common smd pads(0603,0805, MiniMelf, etc...) or any ideas how they can be made?

I want to make my own stencils and for my pcb's there are generally only a few pad shapes and sizes. Generally the circles are 60 mils diameter, the squares are those for 0603 medium density with some

0805's and minimelf diodes mixed in for good luck. The stencils are about 30 mil plastic so should be easy to punch through.

With a few punches I could knock out a stencil pretty quick.

Reply to
Bobby Joe
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Buy a few concrete nails and grind them - easy cheap source of pre-hardened steel for small stuff. Safety glasses, Dremel on the cheap, die grinder or Foredom on the longer lasting end, and a bit of patience.

If you need bigger, either buy cheap chisels & punches and regrind them, or buy drill rod and flat stock and learn to harden steel - it's a useful skill.

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Reply to
Ecnerwal

There's somebody who makes laser-cut mylar stencils for something like $25. They don't last as long as stainless, but they are good for protos and short runs.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

Except that they are 4 mm WIDE! Hardly good for small stuff.

Easier to use actual drill bit shanks. It is already tool steel.

Badadvice. Especially if he does not know hoe to keep from annealing them beyond practical function for the purpose.

The drill rod is already hardened. Probably cheaper to buy threaded rod and grind one end to size.

Reply to
SoothSayer

These guys?

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Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

Yeah, right. If you have so few components you think you can actually manage to make this worth your time, just solder the damn parts by hand. 0805? Mr Magoo could do that.

If you think you can just punch out manually anything even remotely useful, you're delusional.

But if you're of the persuasion that spending entire weeks doing something like this, get some brass shim stock, print a negative of the stencil on a laser printer, and then etch the holes with ferric chloride, drop by drop.

You like wasting time? There you go. Instead of stabbing your eyes out while Dremeling tiny pieces of tool steel, you'll burn holes in everything.

Your call.

Reply to
a7yvm109gf5d1

If you really must make your own stencil just drill some plain round holes, they'll work well enough.

Otherwise just use a dispensing syringe and dab solder paste on each pad manually.

Reply to
Dennis

You don't need square apertures. I have never made a whole stencil this way, but I have often added a new component for a revision by drilling holes with circuit board drills.

I photo-etch .003" brass shim stock using PC board technology that I already have, such as master artwork => photoresist => ferric chloride etching.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

That sounds like a sensible solution to me.

IIRC you can buy sheets with photoresist for this purpose.

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Reply to
Nico Coesel

How funny!

Reply to
TheQuickBrownFox

The brass sheet is pretty cheap, but I have to special-order it to get the

12" wide material. Normally they stock 6" wide, not big enough for some boards.

I get the photoresist in 100 foot rolls, 12" wide, and laminate to both sides of the brass shim stock. I just add a .060" paper shim to one side and run it through my heated-roll laminator that is set up for .062" PCB material.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Meaning that I have never made a complete stencil for a board mechanically. I have a CNC mill, so I could drill a bunch of holes by CNC, using a top and bottom sheet of stiffer material to control the burrs and punch-through of the drill. But, that would be a lot of work, it is at least a bit easier to do it by photo-etching. That way I can have a wide range of hole sizes and shapes as easy as all one size.

But, if you can handle the tedium, making a stencil completely by marking and drilling the holes will work.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

The brass sheet is pretty cheap, but I have to special-order it to get the

12" wide material. Normally they stock 6" wide, not big enough for some boards.

I get the photoresist in 100 foot rolls, 12" wide, and laminate to both sides of the brass shim stock. I just add a .060" paper shim to one side and run it through my heated-roll laminator that is set up for .062" PCB material.

Jon

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Where do you get that from? It would be pretty nice to have that. You could do your copper clad and stencils. Seems quite useful if lamination works well. What trace thickness/resolution can you get with lamination?

Reply to
DonMack

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