Stepped stencils have become increasingly important in electronic assembly production. They are used whenever the applied paste quantity can no longer be adequately regulated by modifying the apertures.
Another area of application comes in the compensation of height differences on the board surface, which can result e.g. from labels or excessively high via-hole pluggings. Height differences are compensated for by recesses on the underside of the SMD stencil, preventing unintended snap-off and subsequent print smearing.