Month: November 2015

PCB fixture for applying solderpaste

I have done a few PCBs using the reflow  process. To apply the solder-paste using a stencil one requires some sort of fixture to hold the PCB.

So far I helped myself with other PCB Material which I glued on the table to get to the same height. This is okay when only one PCB needs to be made. However, when doing multiple PCBs on after another, the position needs to be constant for every board.

So I designed a simple spring loaded fixture to hold the PCB in place. Its made out of 1.5mm acrylic.

PCB fixture springs

Co2-Laser mirror wear

I noticed decreasing performance with my Co2-Laser Cutter. After a short investigation I found one of the mirrors to look like this:

burned mirrorThats not looking to good, seems like the laser actually damaged the mirror.

Fortunately its not dead center, so I just rotated the mirror a little. Problem solved (for now).