PCB Holders

I've been doing some reorganizing and noticed I have a collection of PCB holders. I decided to do a quick post on them to spark some discussion around what constitutes a good PCB holder.

This video is a brief overview of the holders I have and how I use them.

What do you use to hold PCBs and what do you think is a good holder system?

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shabaz over 1 year ago in reply to colporteur +3

It is a genius material, so many uses. It comes in a sheet form, between waxed paper. The first time it is used, it just needs to be stretched a bit, and it becomes sticky (without leaving any residue…
michaelkellett over 1 year ago +3

My favourites are steel toolmakers vices. I bought three at a very good price from MSV a couple of years ago - never seen good ones so cheap again They do for all sorts of things apart from holding…
Andrew J over 1 year ago in reply to colporteur +2

Seriously, blu-tack is the way to go here as they don't move at all once stuck down - the only thing to be aware of is avoiding getting blu-tack stuck in any empty holes! I picked that tip up from Shabaz…

Andrew J over 1 year ago

I have the blue-pillared one and I find it useful for through-hole. I use blu-tack rather than a foam pad to hold parts in place though. It can sometimes be a bit loose and it can be awkward if parts are near an edge as either the holder is in the way or you're in danger of levering the board with the soldering iron and moving it. Having said that I think it works pretty well. For surface mount, I just have the board on a silicon mat.
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anniel747 over 1 year ago

Weller ESF 120ESD.
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anniel747 over 1 year ago

canada.newark.com/.../66F7803
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anniel747 over 1 year ago

WBH 3000S for hot gas.
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colporteur over 1 year ago

Your post was very timely for me.

I use the through hole device you presented. I have a few of the others you mentioned also.

You answered the question I was going to ask and that was "How do you hold components to solder once you flip them.?" I will find a piece of foam and give it a try.
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anniel747 over 1 year ago in reply to colporteur

The Weller has an articulated arm.
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Andrew J over 1 year ago in reply to colporteur

Seriously, blu-tack is the way to go here as they don't move at all once stuck down - the only thing to be aware of is avoiding getting blu-tack stuck in any empty holes! I picked that tip up from Shabaz.
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anniel747 over 1 year ago in reply to Andrew J

Contacts contamination risk.
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genebren over 1 year ago

Nice collection of board holders. I have quite a few of those very same holders, but seeing your explanations I am seeing some methods that I have not explored. Thanks for sharing.
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kmikemoo over 1 year ago

I also have the blue one, the one with the magnifier and a couple of different third hand models. I probably use the third hands on my soldering station the most. From there, it depends on the size of what I am soldering that makes the choice of what I use. And when I say "size", I'm really asking myself how heavy the base of the holder needs to be so it actually holds the work. I don't always go large because then I have to clear off more of the workbench to use it.
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