While I generally use nothing smaller that SOIC chips or 0603 passive components, I have to design a PCB with a WSON-14 IC with tiny 0.5mm pin spacing and with an exposed pad.
While I generally use a syringe to apply solder paste I thought that, for such a small beast, I should better order a stencil with the PCBs.
Since this will be the first time I order and use a stencil, I wonder if there is any good practice to ease the alignment of the stencil and the application of the solder paste.
For what it’s worth, I’m using Kicad to design the PCB. The PCB is tiny (0.4"×0.7"), and I consider ordering to a low-cost Chinese factory (~$10 for 10 PCBs, ~$15 for a stencil).
Any advice is welcome.