Embodiments of stiffening members in accordance with the present invention provide a mechanical support that is wave soldered to the frontside of the system substrate simultaneously with other wave soldered components. The stiffening member comprises a flat plate with a plurality of mounting pins. The number of mounting pins are predetermined to provide the plate with sufficient support to resist expected loading conditions when wave soldered in plated through holes on a system substrate. The mounting pins are adapted for insertion into plated through holes on the system substrate. The length of the mounting pins are predetermined to account for the height of the SMT component upon which it is attached, the thickness of the system substrate, and the desired amount of mounting pin protrusion from the backside of the system substrate. The stiffening members consume very little system substrate space while retaining a platform for heat dissipation.