Stencil heaven at Hackvana with the Stencil8 system.

Having recently been recommended to check out Hackvana.com for the new Papilio DUO prototype’s I noticed a quick blurb about stencils in the Q&A doc. I asked Mitch, who runs Hackvana, about stencils in the IRC channel and boy was I glad I did! He outlined a very affordable and easy to use stenciling system called Stencil8. There is a detailed guide written by Zach Hoeken at hoektronics.com that shows you how to use a PCB tooling block and metal dowels to get perfect alignment between your PCB and stencil. Mitch at Hackvana.com will take your pcb design and add alignment rails that will match up perfectly with low cost stencils that he can provide for around $30 each. That’s right steel stencils for just $30 each! I’ve already ordered a PCB tooling block and am super excited to put this stencil system to the test.