Cree XM-L or XM-L2 Stencil Pattern

X83

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Jul 31, 2016
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Anyone know where to purchase the polyimide film or stainless plate type solder paste stencil patterns for the bare Cree XM-L2 or XM-L2 emitters?
 

staticx57

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Dec 2, 2011
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Type this into Google: "CREE MTG/XRE/XML/XPG solder paste stencil"
 

DIWdiver

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Jan 27, 2010
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Staticx57's suggestion must be typed exactly as quoted. One of google's first few results leads you to a specific site where you can purchase a stencil that has one pattern for each of those LEDs. It's a great idea if you are doing stars or other 1-up, LED only boards.

If you have a gerber file, and/or want a stencil that includes more than just the single LED, seeedstudio can do one for $8.90 USD. Shipping will be more than that if you want it in less than a few weeks. They also have the Gallery, where people post designs you can use for free. You might find something there. IIRC, if you do the design yourself, you might get your order free if you post it to the Gallery. Never looked into the rules around this. I think this is really similar to the site staticx57 suggested.

OTOH, maybe you don't even need a stencil. You can buy solder paste in syringes, and apply by hand to the pads. Our assemblers at work do this in situations where a stencil is either not practical (repairs) or not available for some reason (the stencils we buy for our machine cost $175 each). Given the large pads on the XML footprint, this shouldn't be too hard. I've done it a few times for parts with much smaller pads. If you are just looking to do a couple of stars, you might find this the easiest solution.
 
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