Yes.  Stencils come in two varieties.  Mylar, and Stainless steel.  The
stainless is by far the way to go, but those are around $150-$200 a piece
versus $50 for the mylar stencil.  If you're pin pitch is large enough, then
you can go Mylar.  I would not attempt making my own stencil.

Solder paste will do many small (3"x4") boards.  I have done probably 30
boards for various projects and I'm down no more than 1/4 of my first jar of
paste.

On 11/22/06, Martin K <martin-distlists@nnytech.net> wrote:
>
> You have to make/buy stencils though and get the solder paste right?
> That would be pretty convenient if I was making many boards.
> --
> Martin K
>
> Vitaliy wrote:
> > Shawn Wilton wrote:
> >
> >> I've had no problem doing 0603 components reliably.  It gets difficult
> >> when
> >> you try QFN parts.  Those require a stencil and must be reflowed, or
> put
> >> the
> >> heat gun to them.  Something I've found that works for me is
> pre-tinning
> >> the
> >> pads on the board so you can apply the part, put heat to the pin and it
> >> should wick the solder up the pin giving you a satisfactory joint.
> >>
> >
> > Have you tried baking your PCBs, instead of hand-soldering? We use a
> regular
> > $20 toaster oven at work, and it works perfectly for prototypes and
> single
> > boards. Sure beats soldering SSOPs by hand. :)
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Vitaliy
> >
> >
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-- 

Shawn Wilton (b9 Systems)
http://b9Systems.com  <- New web page
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