Solder Mask

Basics

• A coating that goes over an etched/milled PCB
• It covers everything except the SMD pads, and the through hole mount (is this ever abbreviated as THM?) holes
• It thus prevent oxidation, and protects the PCB
• Also has artistic value as different colored resins can be used
• Can the same resin as SLA resin be used?

Methods

Mask + Resin + "Dumb" Exposer

• Same as mask etching in many ways
• A Video by the Youtube Channel "Adafruit" going over this method

Resin + Precision CNC Laser Exposer

• This is a maskless process
• It requires high precision laser control, especially for small details

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Solder Mask