Peter used a Shapeoko to cut a solder stencil for a Sick of Beige Bus Pirate v4:
I purchased two Sick of Beige Bus Pirate v4 from schazamp on the DangerousPrototypes forums a couple of months ago and have been dragging my feet assembling them. I used hand soldering for the SMD parts on my DIY Bus Pirate v3 bur for v4, I wanted to try making a solder stencil and reflow using a hot air rework station. There have been several articles recently about etching copper and aluminum stencils and also a recent article about using a Cricut to cut a stencil out of overhead transparencies.
Via the contact form.
Check out the video after the break.
Hrm…how are you supposed to squeegee solder paste over that stencil nicely? It looks like it will damage the squeegee with bits of errant metal.
I think the magnification and harsh lighting make it look that way. When I run my fingers over either side, it doesn’t catch anywhere and feels smooth except for the drill holes. I will probably do a trial run with toothpaste and an old credit card.