Cheap, effective standoff techniques?

[343 Salty Beans]

Since I'm a poor cheap bastard  I've never really done any fancy standoffs. Mostly I hotglue a piece of cardboard on the enclosure that's a half inch wider and longer than the PCB or vero. Then I have to figure out...how do I make the PCB stay without shorting something out or retaining unnecessary heat?

So I'm interested in how you guys stand the boards off the enclosures. Any cheap, effective suggestions? Pics are appreciated

343SB

[mojotron]

I have run a cable tie under the wires and over the back of the board and pulled it tight so that it both secured the board and pulled it into the pots. This works great and cable ties are cheap.

The other thing I do is to take an old piece of mouse pad and glue it to the back of the board in addition to the cable ties.

If you have hot glue you could always just cut out a piece of wood - like a 1/4-1/2" cross secton of a 2x4 end; glue the wood to the back of the pots then screw the board into the wood.

Sorry no pics 

[petemoore]

  I put a screw through the top of the enclosure, placed to thread directly into an 'open' [no shorts] place of the board.
 This screw goes through the metal enclosure top, a piece of 'thik clear plastic [like what many things come packaged in] to insulate, then directly into the board...don't overtighten and clamp a wire trace acrosst another under the board...simple, quick, effective...most of my circuit boards are mounted this way. Some have two screws. If the hole in the case is drilled just right, the screw is tight and rigid through the case and the board.
 I've been known to just wrap tape around the board and plastic sheet under the board, then just delicately/observant of what's wedged...'wedge' that in or use foam or more tape or whatever...anything to hold the board well.
 Another one is put the screw through the case, and insulation sheet, then through a short section of ball point pen case [say 3/8'' tube, you'll need 3/8'' 'open' under the board] then the board, the screw then clamps the tube between the board and the case...I use something similar to this [but shop for a thicker more rigid tube] to mount small tube sockets to a board..clamping the tube between the board and the tube socket...screw goes through bottom of board, tube, then threads into the socket or I'll just use a long, thin machine thread 'through bolt and nut'.
 Disregard if you no likey, or use at your own discretion.
 

[343 Salty Beans]

I likey...but for some reason, when I use hotglue, I tend to get random shorts. It works fine...till I glue it in.

What the hell is that???

My key frustration in DIYing is that everything works dandy...till I put it in the freaking box. So my super-organized, neat-obsessed friend and I are going to start working in tandem. I'm going to be the brains, he's gonna wire, mount, decorate, etc.

Any pics you could post of that idea? I like it...it makes sense.

[Apehouse]

This probably will seem ridiculous but when i make an effect for myself i usually stick in an electrical box and use o-ring grommets(like u route power cords thru) glued to the bottom to mount the board. The little slot that runs around the grommet is perfect width for hold the boards. i usually use 2. One i cut in half and the other i use whole. Its great if you are constantly modding something cuz you can just pop it right out in 2 seconds and holds pretty snug. I recently started using headers too so i can completely pop them out and unhook the wires very quickly.
heres some lousy pics of one of the first i did this on:

i nibbled a little away on the whole one to make a little easier to pop the board in and out.
never had a problem with them shorting out on bottom but i guess its a possibility.
-greg

[phaeton]

Go ye to the local wal-mart, michael's, ben-franklin, or other craft store.  Find ye the bag of 300 Pony Beads, and purchase them for about $1.50.  Pick your favourite colour, or a mix.  They work great as spacers on screws, if you screw your pcb to stuff. 

Otherwise, (a less cheap route) is to get some short screws and nuts- like maybe 1/2" long.  Plastic hardware would be best, but it's not always the cheapest.  Put the screw through the holes on the pcb with the head facing away from the mounting surface, and lock it down to the pcb with a nut, being careful not to short anything with it (careful layout would keep your parts away from the edges anyways).  Now drop some globs of hot glue on the mounting surface and mash the threaded ends of the screws into them. 

Works for me.

You can see the pony beads technique in the front of my 386 amp below:



And if you want to talk about cheap, check out those $0.94 super heavy duty SPST switches there. 

[fixr1984]

I use velcro. I hot glue the one piece to the bottom of the board. The glue is mainly
to fill in the gaps between solder points. And the other side attaches to the inside of the box.
Lately I've been putting the board on the side of the box next to the switch.

[Pushtone]

Just posted this last week - Wow two post counts for the price of one

Super Cheap Standoff
0.17 cents per standoff

Not my idea. I read it on another thread. Sorry no credit but you know who you are...

Use machine bolts and two nuts to make a standoff.
You can position the hight of the board with the nuts.
Cut the bolts down so they fit tight between the box top and bottom.
This way you don't need to glue them down or drill through the box.
I put 1/8" craft foam sheet on the bottom of the box and the screw heads sink in and stay put.

You could also use shorter bolts and JB weld them in. I like to use compression to hold it in place.

[Pushtone]

Here's another one but not as cheap.

Adhesive cable tie anchors and zap straps.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=46056.0

[newbie builder]

If I'm trying to do something very neatly and have room in the enclosure or I'm planning on showing the insides to anybody than I use these :http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=76
Put one or two (preferably two) to the back of the pots in the pedal. Otherwise, lots of black electrical tape.

[343 Salty Beans]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys 

I love the O-ring grommey idea...and the velcro. Both of those look sturdy while being easily accessible in the event of problems/modding.