Applying solder paste to a new custom PCB is always a little nerve-racking. A simple wave of your hand and you have a mess to clean up. To make this task a little easier, (Max Scheffler) built the Stencil Fix Portablea compact, self-contained vacuum table to hold your stencil firmly in place and remove it cleanly every time.

THE Stencil Correction V1 used a shop vacuum for vacuuming, just like another stencil holder we saw. The vacuum cleaner can take up valuable space, makes the jig a little difficult to move, and banging the hose can result in the dreaded smear and colorful language. To get around this, (Max) added a brushless drone motor with a 3D printed turbine, with a LiPo battery for power. The speed controller gets its PWM signal from a small RP2040 development board connected to a potentiometer. (Max) could have used a servo tester, but he found that the motor might be a little too responsive and would move the entire unit due to the inertia of the wheel. The RP2040 allowed him to add a low pass filter to eliminate the problem. The adjustable speed also means that the suction force can be reduced slightly to make it easier to align the stencil before locking it in place completely.

We love seeing tool projects like these that make future projects a little easier. Luckily, (Max) has made the templates available so you can create your own.