When you order PCB and stencils together (usually by toggling a switch during PCB ordering), it is very likely that the manufacturer will take into account the dimensions (dimension layer in Gerber) of the underlying PCB and not process anything outside of your PCB board border (dimension layer). This way the large outer holes used to align the stencil with RapidStencil WILL NOT BE CREATED on the stencil. THIS IS AN ERROR and it will make your stencil unusable with RapidStencil
The best way to ensure that this will not happen is to order the stencils separately from the PCB’s. You can only include the GTP/GBP top/bottom paste layer. Usually you can simply order a single stencil straight on the Quote page, by clicking on the SMT-Stencil option and save to cart.
If you upload your file and place a stencil order separately, they will only follow your file to make the stencil and will not consider the PCB file. Sometimes you might get a question about the round holes. You can add a comment during your stencil order, like the next one, to avoid delays in during the approval
"请不要修改文件！根据我的设计。孔很重要！谢谢！Please do not modify the file! According to my design. Holes are important! Thank you !"
