Patent ID: 7249558

Claim:
A stencil printer for printing solder paste onto a substrate, the stencil printer comprising: a frame; a stencil coupled to the frame, the stencil having apertures formed therein; a support assembly, coupled to the frame, to support the substrate in a printing position beneath the stencil; and a dispensing head coupled to the frame in such a manner that the dispensing head is configured to traverse the stencil during first and second print strokes, the dispensing head comprising a frame assembly, a wiper blade assembly, coupled to the frame assembly, having first and second wiper blades that contact the stencil to print solder paste onto the stencil during a print stroke, the first and second wiper blades being constructed and arranged to force solder paste through the apertures of the stencil without pressurizing the solder paste, a dispensing unit, coupled to the frame assembly, having a chamber adapted to dispense solder paste, the dispensing unit being disposed between the first and second wiper blades to deposit solder paste therebetween, the dispensing unit being configured to deposit solder paste on the stencil, and a translational movement assembly, coupled to the frame assembly and the dispensing unit, to move the dispensing unit in a direction transverse to the direction of the movement of the dispensing head during the first and second print strokes, the translational movement assembly having a sliding mechanism to move the dispensing unit toward the stencil when depositing solder paste on the stencil, wherein the dispensing head is adapted to print unpressurized solder paste on to the substrate.