OT: Glue a Component to PCB

I've used super glue just fine. You don't have a lot of time to get it

positioned right, though. Epoxy is probably better. You know you have about

5 minutes from when you mix it.

"Tony Rolando" <tony@moogmusic.com> wrote in message

news:g2roab$9c$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Hello, I need to reinforce a large component on a PCB to avoid stressing

the solder joints. What have you all used to do this?

 

Epoxy, all purpose glue, RTV etc... ???

 

Thanx,

 

Tony

 

Well, I just talked to one of the engineers and he is saying that there is

the possibility that epoxy will eat through the soldermask. Not so good

looking I suppose. On the upside, most of the Epoxy i looked at had very

high dielectric ratings.

Tony

"LGR" <lgr@nventure.com> wrote in message

news:g2rtfi$f3i$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

I've used super glue just fine. You don't have a lot of time to get it

positioned right, though. Epoxy is probably better. You know you have

about 5 minutes from when you mix it.

 

"Tony Rolando" <tony@moogmusic.com> wrote in message

news:g2roab$9c$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Hello, I need to reinforce a large component on a PCB to avoid stressing

the solder joints. What have you all used to do this?

 

Epoxy, all purpose glue, RTV etc... ???

 

Thanx,

 

Tony

 

You didn't say it had to be pretty.

Truth is, unless you know exactly what the board is made from, and exactly

what the part you're gluing is made out of, ugly is a possibility. Epoxy,

being a copolymer, is probably less likely than other real glues to attack

parts.

You also didn't mention how much support you need. RTV might work, but it

won't provide much support without the part moving. If you just need

compressive strength, hot melt is commonly used. I've seen hot melt used all

the time in consumer electronics to secure all manner of things.

"Tony Rolando" <tony@moogmusic.com> wrote in message

news:g2ruha$ial$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Well, I just talked to one of the engineers and he is saying that there is

the possibility that epoxy will eat through the soldermask. Not so good

looking I suppose. On the upside, most of the Epoxy i looked at had very

high dielectric ratings.

 

Tony

 

"LGR" <lgr@nventure.com> wrote in message

news:g2rtfi$f3i$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

I've used super glue just fine. You don't have a lot of time to get it

positioned right, though. Epoxy is probably better. You know you have

about 5 minutes from when you mix it.

 

"Tony Rolando" <tony@moogmusic.com> wrote in message

news:g2roab$9c$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Hello, I need to reinforce a large component on a PCB to avoid stressing

the solder joints. What have you all used to do this?

 

Epoxy, all purpose glue, RTV etc... ???

 

Thanx,

 

Tony

 

On 2008/Jun/12 6:28 PM, in article g2s7tl$dcp$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de, "LGR"

<lgr@nventure.com> wrote:

You didn't say it had to be pretty.

 

Truth is, unless you know exactly what the board is made from, and exactly

what the part you're gluing is made out of, ugly is a possibility. Epoxy,

being a copolymer, is probably less likely than other real glues to attack

parts.

 

You also didn't mention how much support you need. RTV might work, but it

won't provide much support without the part moving. If you just need

compressive strength, hot melt is commonly used. I've seen hot melt used all

the time in consumer electronics to secure all manner of things.

Another possibility (again, it depends on exactly what you're trying to do)

is to put pairs of holes in strategic locations and then use a tie wrap to

go through them and around the component.  I've used this technique for a

large cap that sits parallel to the PCB to keep it fixed to the board.

Worked very well.  And easy to rework in a way that epoxy/glue isn't

sometimes.

The hot melt glue gun is a good one in some instances as well.

As for epoxy eating through your PCB, there are epoxies specifically created

for just this application.  Those are safe.  But yes, any random epoxy/glue

on any particular PCB material could cause chemical issues.  But that isn't

really new news.

Cheers,

James.

--

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Tony Rolando wrote:

Well, I just talked to one of the engineers and he is saying that there is

the possibility that epoxy will eat through the soldermask. Not so good

looking I suppose. On the upside, most of the Epoxy i looked at had very

high dielectric ratings.

 

Tony

 

There are several adhesives designed specifically for this purpose.

Two I use are Loctite tak pak 382, good for wires and small items

and Loctite Black Tak 4105 for larger items

Neither are particularly cheap , but they do the job.

cheers

David

Thanx for all the advice guys. I really like the tie wrap method as I have

definitely spent time peeling away at RTV to get at a part. Also suggested

by an engineer around here was gasket cement.

Cheers,

Tony

"David Moodie" <dgmoodie@onetel.com.cut_this_off> wrote in message

news:g2tf2s$edu$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de...

Tony Rolando wrote:

Well, I just talked to one of the engineers and he is saying that there

is the possibility that epoxy will eat through the soldermask. Not so

good looking I suppose. On the upside, most of the Epoxy i looked at had

very high dielectric ratings.

 

Tony

 

 

There are several adhesives designed specifically for this purpose.

 

Two I use are Loctite tak pak 382, good for wires and small items

and Loctite Black Tak 4105 for larger items

 

Neither are particularly cheap , but they do the job.

 

cheers

 

David

What about a clear silicon?  Even a small tube like is used to seal fish

tanks.  It will hold the part in place, but can be removed if need.

I've seen this used on many boards.

James Morrison wrote:

On 2008/Jun/12 6:28 PM, in article g2s7tl$dcp$1@cheetah.cadsoft.de, "LGR"

<lgr@nventure.com> wrote:

 

You didn't say it had to be pretty.

 

Truth is, unless you know exactly what the board is made from, and exactly

what the part you're gluing is made out of, ugly is a possibility. Epoxy,

being a copolymer, is probably less likely than other real glues to attack

parts.

 

You also didn't mention how much support you need. RTV might work, but it

won't provide much support without the part moving. If you just need

compressive strength, hot melt is commonly used. I've seen hot melt used all

the time in consumer electronics to secure all manner of things.

 

Another possibility (again, it depends on exactly what you're trying to do)

is to put pairs of holes in strategic locations and then use a tie wrap to

go through them and around the component.  I've used this technique for a

large cap that sits parallel to the PCB to keep it fixed to the board.

Worked very well.  And easy to rework in a way that epoxy/glue isn't

sometimes.

 

The hot melt glue gun is a good one in some instances as well.

 

As for epoxy eating through your PCB, there are epoxies specifically created

for just this application.  Those are safe.  But yes, any random epoxy/glue

on any particular PCB material could cause chemical issues.  But that isn't

really new news.

 

Cheers,

 

James.