SMT, PCB Electronics Industry News

Get to Know Your PCB Printer Stencil Wiping Roll

May 22, 2019

Lint-Free Stencil Roll Material

While no material is entirely lint-free, there are materials that are virtually lint-free. This is an important attribute to look for in your stencil wiping roll. Contaminated PC boards are a common problem. While the contamination itself is often thought of as a mystery to the printer operator, the cause may come from the stencil wiping roll. This is largely due to the sticky solder paste and sharp edges of the stencil’s apertures.

The stencil wiping roll is supposed to clean the stencil in an attempt to prevent contamination. However, some stencil wiping rolls leave behind pieces of its material on the stencil, subsequently contaminating the PC board. When these contaminants pass through the oven, voids will occur.

Selecting a stencil cleaning roll such as the GREEN MONSTER! can help prevent damage to products, parts, and expensive equipment. GREEN MONSTER is free of weak linty paper fibers because it is comprised of coarse rayon and ESD polyester bonded by a tough proprietary formula of copolymers.

One can determine the probability of contamination with an easy test of the stencil wiping roll. The test is called the “Tape Test”. It is a quick and simple experiment that will save any company money by not having to repair contaminated boards. It will also help any company in determining which stencil wiping rolls are acceptable.

Tape Test Procedure

  1. First, cut off a piece of scotch tape or black electrical tape about 2 inches in length.
  2. Place the strip of tape along the surface of the stencil wiping fabric.
  3. Once the tape has adhered to the surface, pressure must be applied. The pressure should be applied in an even fashion. To ensure that the pressure is equally applied roll a 1,000gm calibration weight over the taped surface. If a weight of this size is not available, a seam pro (used for wallpaper seam attachment), a full can of soda or any tool that will provide equal weight distribution can be used. In some cases, simply using a finger will be acceptable. 
  4. If Scotch tape is used, place it on a black surface and observe the mount of fibers pulled off with the naked eye or better yet a magnifier.  This test can easily be quantified by counting fibers and particles under magnification.
  5. For the best determination, repeat this step for front and back sides of the wiping roll’s fabric.

Important: This test is only valid when comparing fabrics.

For more tips on optimizing your PCB cleaning process, please contact us.

Apr 20, 2021 -

New and Improved GRAB EEZ Cleanroom Wipe Dispenser

Feb 09, 2021 -

Reduce Cleanroom Contamination by Using High-Quality Wipes

Jul 16, 2020 -

SMT Stencil Cleaning Roll Tape Test

Apr 02, 2020 -

Manufacturer of GREEN MONSTER Stencil Rolls Celebrates 25th Anniversary

May 22, 2019 -

Get to Know Your PCB Printer Stencil Wiping Roll

Feb 19, 2018 -

Presaturated Surface Prep Wipe

May 16, 2017 -

High-Tech Conversions Adds New Presaturated Wipe Options

Sep 01, 2016 -

Contract Manufacturing and Private Labeling Solutions

Mar 28, 2016 -

ISO 5-6 ESD Cleanroom Wipes

Jun 24, 2015 -

ESD-Safe Cleanroom Wipes

32 more news from High-Tech Conversions »

Jul 06, 2022 -

Offline PCBA Cleaning Machine HJS-7100,rosin flux, non-clean flux,water-soluble flux cleaning machine

Jul 05, 2022 -

Semiconductor Spray Cleaning Machine HJS-9700,Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Machine HJS-9700

Jul 04, 2022 -

Pneumatic Stencil Cleaner HJS-9000II,dual chamber stencil cleaning machine

Jul 03, 2022 -

Electric Stencil Cleaner HJS-9500, SMT Electric Stencil Cleaner HJS-9500

Jul 01, 2022 -

Screen Cleaning Machine HJS-4600, SMT Screen Cleaning Machine HJS-4600

Jun 30, 2022 -

Electric Fixture Cleaning Machine HJS-6700, SMT pallet cleaning machine, soldering pallet cleaning machine

Jun 29, 2022 -

Waste Water Treatment Machine RWT-1000, SMT Waste Water Treatment Machine RWT-1000

Jun 28, 2022 -

Gen3's Dr Chris Hunt, CTO submits an insightful paper to the journal of Surface Mount Technology

Jun 28, 2022 -

Squeegee Cleaning Machine HJS-3700,SMT Squeegee Cleaning Machine HJS-3700

Jun 27, 2022 -

Solderstar Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation

See electronics manufacturing industry news »

Get to Know Your PCB Printer Stencil Wiping Roll news release has been viewed 728 times

Sell Your Used SMT & Test Equipment

MSD Dry Cabinets