Further to this, I would like to enquire if for 0402 chips, tombstoning etc... if a straight reduction in the width of the stencil can provide the same effect as a homeplate. Presummably the homeplate reduces the effect of the paste being squeezed out by the chip being placed on top of it, causing solderballs and with 0402s the risk of tombstoning, the reduced solder volume will lower the surface tension during reflow, thus avoiding pulling the chip up on it's end. Anyway, can a narrow strip of paste, say 16 thou (mil) give the same results? Also, for stencil apertures, CSPs, 0.8 and 0.75mm, what are people using generally, 14 thou(mil)... 12 thou dia?????? Regards Edward Brunker Sendo UK ph:0121 766 5053 p.s. Keith are you out there??? -----Original Message----- From: Ramsey's [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, October 28, 1999 12:04 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Solderball / homeplate / chip Contract Mfg. struggles with solder balls on chip caps. We can't control the land patterns, but we can change the stencil. Has anyone out there tried home plate shaped openings in the stencil even though the lands are rectangular? ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ############################################################## ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################