The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (2020) 108:3351–3359

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05636-9

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Three-dimensional CFD simulation of the stencil printing

performance of solder paste
M. S. Rusdi 1 & M. Z. Abdullah 1 & M. H. H. Ishak 2 & M. S. Abdul Aziz 1 & M. K. Abdullah 3 & P. Rethinasamy 4 & A. Jalar 5

Received: 28 November 2019 / Accepted: 11 June 2020 / Published online: 19 June 2020
# Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
The first step in the surface mount technology is the printing of the solder paste. The amount of solder placed on the cooper pad is
important in guaranteeing an acceptable quality of soldering. Experimental works and studies for this process consume time and
cost. There is a need for a cost-effective method to study this process. The simulation method has shown as a good alternative
method for the solder paste printing process. Thus, this study presents a 3D computer simulation of stencil printing for the
deposited volume prediction of solder paste. The volume of fluid (VOF) method integrated with the cross viscosity model was
used for the numerical simulation. A widely used industry lead-free solder paste Sn/Ag/Cu (SAC305) of type 3 was utilized. The
experimental and simulation results for filling volume of solder paste at different aperture sizes were compared. Results for
different aperture sizes show a similar trend and agree well with the experimental results. This study was extended to investigate
stencil printing at different squeegee speeds and aperture sizes. The squeegee speed of 35 mm/s provided the highest solder paste
volume in the aperture with acceptable printing time.

Keywords Squeegee speed . SAC305 solder . Electronic component . Stencil aperture

1 Introduction printed circuit board (PCB) to PCB with electronic compo-

Electronic items are improving and becoming more sophisti-
cated, smarter, and smaller than before as time progresses.
This advancement must be followed by the improvement in
the manufacturing of electronic components. Electronic in-
dustries utilize the surface mount technology (SMT) as the
manufacturing method for electronic board assembly. This
process consists of a series of steps starting from the plain
* M. Z. Abdullah
mezul@usm.my
1
School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
2
School of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
3
School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti
Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal,
Penang, Malaysia
4
Celestica Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Plot 15, Jalan Hi-Tech 2/3 Phase I,
Kulim Hi-Tech Park, 09000 Kulim, Malaysia
5
School of Applied Physics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM,
43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
nents on it.
The SMT process starts with the stencil printing step,
where the solder paste is deposited on the solder pad by using
a squeegee and a stencil. The process uses the squeegee that
moves at a certain angle to sweep the solder paste into the
designated aperture. This process contributes 60% of the over-
all defects in the SMT products [1]. Designing and testing
experimentally for the stencil process consume large costs in
terms of money and time. Numerical simulation, especially
computational fluid dynamics (CFD), is a promising alterna-
tive to study the stencil printing of solder paste.
Krammer et al. [2] investigated the deformation behavior
of the stencil which can affect printing quality by using the
finite element method (FEM) associated with the uneven sur-
face of printed wiring circuit board (PWB). Higher surface
gap differences between the stencil and PWB affected the
stencil bending behavior that can lead to excessive solder
paste deposits and solder bridge issues. Following the above,
Krammer [3] compared the non-Newtonian and Newtonian
models for solder paste through numerical simulation using
the finite volume method (FVM). The findings showed that
the non-Newtonian model should be used for the simulation of
the solder paste. If real material properties of the solder paste
are ignored, then calculation errors will be obtained.
3352
Manessis et al. [4] used the CFD approach to study the
effect of different densities and squeegee speeds of solder
paste. They found that shear stress and strain increase as the
squeegee speed increases. The 2D CFD analyses for the
stencil printing process was also conducted by Kay et al.
[5] for specific squeegee speeds and different types of sol-
der pastes where printing pressure distribution values were
collected.
Durairaj et al. [6] used the 2D CFD approach to compare
the flow behavior of solder paste with or without lead. This
previous study used the cross viscosity model for leaded and
lead-free solder pastes. Rusdi et al. [7] used the CFD method
integrated with the multiphase method to simulate the stencil
printing of SAC387. The VOF multiphase method was used
because air and solder paste were present in the computational
domain. Thakur et al. [8] utilized the CFD method to investi-
gate the affecting factors of stencil printing. In this previous
study, Sn3.5Ag was used as the solder paste and the Bingham
viscosity model was used to simulate the solder paste. The
study focused on the wall shear stress and solder flow in the
aperture, but the stencil thickness was higher than the size
used in the industry due to complexity.
An interconnected material, isotropic conductive adhe-
sives (ICAs) with the next-generation electroformed sten-
cils, was investigated by Stoyanov et al. [9]. During the flip-
chip assembly process, the use of ICAs was investigated as
an alternative to lead and plumbed solder metals and aims to
ensure a low-temperature assembly process (T < 100 °C). In
this study, a flip-chip kit based on columns of copper-
bumped die and ICA deposits with a stencil of < 100 μm
Fig. 1 Parallel plate spindle of the Anton Paar viscometer
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359
is described in-depth and highlighted. To provide detailed
results on reliability trends for ICA joints subjected to ther-
mal cycling, a technique of computer modelling is per-
formed based on specific damage parameters and damage
assessments. The simulation is more concerning on the re-
liability aspect and the study is a post-process in which after
the package had been assembled not at the stencil printing
stage. The solder bump modelling is the same with the
specification for the solder bump.
Seo and Kim [10] studied the impact of process param-
eters on the filling power, the pressure buildup under the
squeegee, and the filling step of the solder paste in an aper-
ture. These factors were studied using the 2D finite element
method. Due to restrictions in computer memory and time,
the scope of the study was restricted. The pressure built
under the squeegee was examined for different values of
the squeegee angle and speed, meanwhile the pressure limit
fill behavior was then evaluated for one aperture only.
Eventually, two analytical results were combined to obtain
a good filling state. Parameters of the method that pledges
success for output fill were decided apparently. This re-
search process has established process parameters that
guarantee good production filling results. When the angle
of the squeegee decreases and the speed of the squeegee
rises, squeezing pressure has been shown to increase.
Nonetheless, with a decrease in the squeegee angle and
the squeegee pace, filling efficiency is still deemed to be
higher. The study visualizes the aperture filling but using a
2D simulation technique. The simulation also does not use a
viscosity model where constant viscosity was used.
The simulation of stencil printing requires the insertion
of the material properties in the model, especially the vis-
cosity properties of the solder. The solder paste is consid-
ered to be a non-Newtonian fluid, thixotropic fluid, or
shear-thinning material [11]. The viscosity of the solder
paste will change depending on the shear stress applied.
Previous researchers have used various methods to measure
their solder paste samples by using a viscometer [8–12].
Most previous studies have focused only on the viscosity
of solder paste. In the current study, viscosity measurement
and data were used for the cross viscosity model in the
simulation.
For the stencil printing process, most previous works
used 2D simulation for the solder paste printing study ex-
cept Thakur et al. [8]. Thakur et al. used a 3D simulation of
the stencil printing and their works mainly focused on shear
stress and flow movement of the paste. In nature, the print-
ing problem is 3D phenomena, and since the aperture open-
ing is small, the edges and corners are crucial influencing
the solder paste filling. A 3D simulation makes possible to
follow actual stencil design and can predict better for the
aperture filling of the solder paste. Moreover, 3D simula-
tion also will provide real filling phenomena for better
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359 3353

visualization and physical understanding. For inflow anal-

ysis, usually, CFD software is used [13]. FVM has been
incorporated to improve computing time and it is common-
ly used by engineers and researchers in the field of CFD.
Hence, FVM was selected for the current study.
This study focused on the modelling of 3D simulation of
stencil printing. The simulation model was validated with ex-
perimental works using an industrial stencil printer, namely,
DEK265. Simulation with a 3D approach can be utilized to
predict the filling volume of the aperture and the phenomena
during the stencil printing process. This study contributes to
the literature by introducing the CFD simulation integrated
with FVM to capture the solder paste printing phenomena
during experiments. The simulation model will help re-
searchers and engineers to better understand aperture filling
without wasting costs for trial and error. The study can also
provide engineers with guidelines for future creation and use
of 3D simulation for SMT studies. This simulation was vali-
dated using an actual industry stencil printing machine and
solder paste filled scanning using an industry 3D scanner with
the experimental outcomes performed at the local SMT busi-
ness. In this research, a commonly used lead-free solder paste
of type 3 called SAC305 was used.
Fig. 3 Meshing of the simulation model

2 Methodology
2.1 Viscosity test
A rotary rheometer from Anton Paar (Physica MCR 301) was
used for viscosity testing of the solder paste (SAC305). The
machine is located in the School of Materials and Mineral
Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The vis-
cosity was tested using parallel plates (Fig. 1) with a fixed gap
of 0.5 mm between both plates [12]. The upper plate with a
diameter of 25 mm was rotated to control the shear rate while
the lower plate was fixed. The viscosity measurement was
conducted at a shear rate ranging from 0.001 to 10 s−1 [9].
The viscosity data were plotted and used in the cross model for
the simulation of SAC305 properties.
2.2 Experiment of stencil printing
The experimental works were conducted using the industry
solder paste printing machine DEK265 model from DEK
Technologies. The angle of the squeegee was fixed at 60° with
a squeegee load of 9 kg. The squeegee was moved at a con-
stant speed of 35 mm/s [14]. The solder paste was measured
using the Koh Young Aspire 2 3D scanner from Koh Young
Inc. DEK265 and Koh Young Aspire 2 are located at
Celestica Sdn., Bhd. in Kulim Technology Park, Kedah,
Malaysia. The experiments were carried out at room temper-
ature (25 °C ± 2 °C). A stainless steel stencil with a dimension
of 730 mm × 735 mm and a thickness of 0.127 mm was used
in the experiment.

Fig. 2 Solder paste stencil

printing process

Side Top
3354 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359

Fig. 4 Boundary conditions of

the simulation model

2.3 Governing equations and cross viscosity model

∂ρ ∂
∂P ∂τ ij
The fluid movement of the SAC305 solder paste, where it was ðρui Þ þ ρui u j ¼ − þ þ ρg i þ F i ; ð2Þ
squeezed on the perforated stencil, can be described by the ∂t ∂x j ∂xi ∂xi
governing equations of mass, momentum, and energy conser- where P is the static pressure, τij is the viscous stress tensor,
vation. ANSYS FLUENT (a CFD code) solves the governing and gi and Fi are the gravitational acceleration and the external
equations using Cartesian spatial coordinates. In the simula- force of the body in the direction of i, respectively.
tion model, the air and solder paste are assumed to be incom- The energy equation in terms of static enthalpy (h) as de-
pressible [15]. scribed in Eq. (3) is
Mass conservation (continuity equation) is
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂T
∂ρ ∂ ðρhÞ þ ðρui h Þ ¼ ðk Þ þ ηγ̇; ð3Þ
þ ðρui Þ ¼ 0: ð1Þ ∂t ∂xi ∂x j ∂xi
∂t ∂xi
where k is the thermal conductivity, T is the temperature, η is
Equation (1) is the general mass conservation equation that the viscosity, and γ̇ is the shear rate. By using the cross model
complies with the incompressible and compressible flow with Arrhenius temperature dependence, the description of the
equations where ρ is the density, t is the time, and u is the solder paste SAC305 is assumed to be generalized Newtonian
flow velocity vector field. In an inertial (non-accelerating) fluid.
reference frame, momentum conservation in the ith direction η0 ð T Þ
is written as ηðT ; γ˙Þ ¼  1−n ð4Þ
η0 γ˙
1þ τ*

with
 
Tb
η0 ðT Þ ¼ Bexp ð5Þ
T

where B is an exponential-fitting constant, Tb is a temperature-

fitting constant, n is the power-law index, η0 is the zero shear
viscosity, and τ* is the parameter that describes the transition
region of the viscosity curve between the zero shear rate and
the power-law region.

Table 1 Time step dependency study

Case 1 2 3 4 Experiment

Time step 0.01 0.005 0.001 0.0005

Solder volume (mm3) 0.701 0.708 0.714 0.712 0.771
Error (%) 9.1 8.2 7.4 7.7 -
Fig. 5 Viscosity versus shear rate of SAC305
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359 3355

Table 2 Grid dependency study depicts the boundary conditions of the model. The boundaries
Case 1 2 3 4 Experiment and initial conditions are as follows:
a. On stencil wall, u = v = w = 0; T = Tw
No. of elements 1952 2632 3712 7072 b. On solder paste front, p = 0
Solder volume (mm3) 0.686 0.714 0.711 0.710 0.771 c. At inlet, p = pin(x, y, z); T = Tin
Error (%) 11.0 7.4 7.7 7.8 - d. On squeegee wall, u = V

The VOF method was used to locate the liquid phase exis-
tence and distribution by assigning a scalar ( f ) for each cell in
the computer grid. f is the fraction of the liquid-occupied vol-
ume of the cell. Thus, if the cell contains only a soldering
paste, then f is equal to 1 (f = 1). f is equal to zero (f = 0) in
air-consisting cells. If f is between 0 and 1 (0 < f < 1), then it is
equal to f.
dF ∂ F
¼ þ ∇  ðuf Þ ¼ 0
dt ∂t
2.4 Computational domain and boundary conditions
A stencil aperture, as shown in Fig. 2, was regarded in the
printing method. The modelling only focuses on the
flowability of the solder paste using FVM and the deformation
of the stencil from dynamic load is not considered in this
study. The CFD computational domain was constructed on
the basis of the stencil design dimension using pre-
processing software. Paste air and solder were described in
the simulation as two distinct stages of fluid and calculated
using the VOF method. The squeegee was located on the
stencil, along with the soldering paste and moving toward
the soldering pads and moving the air out of the outlet vents,
depending on the stencil size. A hexagonal mesh was used for
the simulation model (Fig. 3) and the dynamic mesh method
was used to simulate the moving wall (squeegee). Figure 4
Fig. 6 Validation of simulation at different aperture sizes
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Viscosity and shear rate measurement
Figure 5 shows that SAC305 exhibits a non-Newtonian be-
havior with a viscosity that is non-linear and that inversely
varies with the shear rate. This trend is similar to that obtained
by previous researchers [16]. The viscosity of the solder paste
ð6Þ decreases as the shear rate increases. The outcomes of
SAC305 viscosity versus shear rate indicate that the zero shear
viscosity (ηo) is 14,400 Pa s and the power-law index (n) is
0.735. These values were used in the cross viscosity model for
numerical calculation.
3.2 Grid independence and time step setup
In the numerical simulation study, time step and grid size are
essential because both will result in either overestimation or
underestimation of the experimental outcomes [17, 18].
Therefore, five distinct time step dimensions (i.e., 0.01,
0.005, 0.001, and 0.0005) with computational domain
consisted of 2632 hexagonal components (amount of mesh
in the opening) were considered to achieve the highest simu-
lation predictions. The experiments were performed at a con-
stant squeegee speed of 35 mm/s, which is comparable with
the real process value. The volume quantity of solder paste
was regarded for validation purposes between numerical pre-
diction and experimentation, as shown in Table 1. The find-
ings indicate that the volume of the solder paste is
underestimated for all numerical simulation outcomes.
However, a discrepancy of 7.4% (the smallest percentage) is
obtained at the time step size of 0.001. Therefore, case 3 with
the smallest percentage discrepancy value in all cases was
selected for the extended simulations and comparison with
the experimental results.
Five different hexagonal mesh elements focused on the
aperture were investigated for grid independence testing.
The results of the simulation were compared with the volume
of experimental solder paste in the opening. The comparative
data between experimental and simulation data are summa-
rized in Table 2. The number of elements in the table is only
the aperture mesh number. Notably, the smallest error is ob-
tained in case 2 with 2632 elements, followed by cases 3 and 5
with 3712 and 7072 elements, respectively. Computational
3356 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359

Fig. 7 Solder paste measurement

using the Koh Young 3D scanner
and CFD simulation result for
2.54 mm × 2.54 mm Tantalum-D
(0.82 mm3 of volume)

domains with 2632 elements and a time step of 0.001 were
selected on the basis of the time step and grid independence
tests for further analysis.
3.3 Validation at different aperture sizes
Figure 6 shows the volume variation of the solder paste at
different aperture sizes. The simulation results obtained were
validated with experimental data. Both have a similar trend
with a linear variation. The simulation and experimental out-
comes have an average discrepancy of 11.6%. Therefore, the
simulation results match the experimental results well.
Figure 7 compares 3D visualization between the simulation
and experimental measurements. The experimental results vi-
sualized by the Koh Young scanner are also in good agree-
ment with the simulation ones. The visualization was taken at
a squeegee speed of 35 mm/s with a part size of 2.4 mm ×
2.4 mm (Tantalum-D as listed in Table 3). Thus, the simula-
tion results can predict the solder paste deposited on the solder
pad effectively. The simulation and experiment show that the
solder can be filled at the aforementioned parametric setting
and exhibit the same shortage of solder paste at the solder
bump corner. However, the corner of the aperture is limited
due to the tight space.
3.4 Solder paste aperture filling
Figure 8 depicts the stencil printing process at separate
printing times. The side view demonstrates the propagation
during stencil printing. The top view (aperture only) shows
Table 3 Size and volume of aperture
Part type Size (mm) Volume (mm3)
0603 0.79 × 0.89 0.09
SOT 1.02 × 1.27 0.14
1210 2.54 × 1.02 0.33
Tantalum-D 2.54 × 2.54 0.82
the filling of the aperture. The filling process already starts
before the squeegee reaches the aperture. The aperture fill-
ing is started when the solder paste reaches the aperture. At
0.1 s, the solder paste reaches the aperture. The solder paste
already fills the aperture even though the stencil does not
reach the aperture yet. At 0.3 s, the stencil still does not
reach the aperture, but the aperture is nearly filled. When
the stencil already passes the aperture at 0.4 s, the aperture
is already filled.
3.5 Effects of different squeegee speeds
Figure 9 shows the filling volume of the aperture with solder
paste at different squeegee speeds. As expected, the time taken
to fill the aperture is fast (within 1–2 s) when the squeegee
speed is increased. However, the filling volume is slow in
terms of filling performance. Figure 10 shows the volume of
solder paste at different squeegee speeds. The graph shows
that high speed results in a low solder paste volume. At a high
speed, the filling time is short. Thus, the time for the solder to
fill the aperture is insufficient. The filling time is long at de-
creased squeegee speeds, but the motion of the solder paste is
slow. As a result, the force for the solder paste to fill the
opening is decreased. The highest solder paste is obtained at
the squeegee speed in the range of 30–35 mm/s. The results
show that the best filling performance, that is, the highest
filled volume and acceptable printing time, is realized at the
squeegee speed of 35 mm/s. The results are in good agreement
with the experimental ones [14]. Simulation results are based
on numerical calculations but for experimental, some param-
eters will influence the results. The simulation follows the
trend of the experimental but the values are near to each other.
In the experiment, the unevenness of the PCB will contribute
to the excessive printed solder volume [2]. Stencil bending
during printing process also can contribute to the difference
of solder paste volume deposited. In the simulation, the PCB
surface is assumed even and no bending occurs on the stencil
and PCB.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359 3357

Fig. 8 SAC305 aperture filling Top View

Time Side View
during stencil printing process (Aperture Only)

0s

Volume Fraction

0.1s

0.2s

0.3s

0.4s

Fig. 9 Solder paste volume at different printing times using 3D

simulation Fig. 10 Solder paste volume at different squeegee speeds
3358
Fig. 11 Solder paste volume at different aperture sizes using 3D
simulation
3.6 Effects of different aperture sizes
Figure 11 depicts the filling volume of solder at different
filling times. The large aperture volume starts to fill the aper-
ture faster than the small aperture volume. The aperture vol-
ume depends on the electronic component (part type) size, as
listed in Table 3. The large aperture size has a large opening
that enables the solder paste to flow even though the squeegee
is still not moving at the beginning of the printing process. The
small aperture size has a small opening, and the squeegee
needs to force the solder paste to enter the aperture. At 0.3 s,
the squeegee reaches the opening and thus increases the solder
paste volume. In this case, the squeegee starts to force the
solder to enter the aperture. Part types of 0603 and SOT start
to fill the aperture at 0.3 s, while Tantalum-D and 1210 al-
ready start to fill when the solder paste reaches them. These
results show that a small aperture solely depends on the force
for the squeegee to fill the aperture. 1210 shows a different
behavior than others where it has two stages of filling. This is
because 1210 is a rectangular shape aperture with a wide
opening but the length is shorter. At the first stage, 1210 starts
to fill the same as Tantalum-D but the force exerted by the
solder paste only is not sufficient to fill the solder paste as
Tantalum-D. 1210 needs more force from the squeegee to fill
at the second stage.
4 Conclusions
CFD simulation was made to study the stencil printing of
solder paste. The simulation using the VOF method tested
two distinct air and solder paste fluids. A cross model was
used as the viscosity model for the solder paste. SAC305,
which is a widely used solder paste in the SMT industry,
was considered. Validation of the simulation results with the
experimental data shows that the CFD simulation trends
match the experimental ones with an average percentage
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020) 108:3351–3359
difference of 11.6% for different aperture sizes. CFD simula-
tion was also used to study the deposition of solder paste at
distinct squeegee speeds and aperture sizes. The results on
different squeegee speeds show that the squeegee speed of
35 mm/s results in the highest solder paste volume in the
aperture with acceptable printing time. Printing for a small
aperture solely depends on the force of squeegee to fill the
aperture.
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