PCB Mounting?

[Steve Mavronis]

I've used some "machinable aluminum epoxy" at work before that would definitely hold a standard aluminum standoff in place.

Why glue anything? Wouldn't it be less evasive to just sandwich the PCB board in between 2 screw together standoffs that fit somewhat snugly against the top and bottom of the enclosure? The PCB would be suspended and would hardly move horizontally with the other hardware blocking the standoff posts. Use plastic ones in case there is any danger of shorting out the jacks or something.

[Processaurus]

What would be the bee's knees is if there were a standoff built into the bottom of the pot, and the legs on the pot were pc mount, but thin wires with a bend in them.  Free idea, if anyone here happens to own Alpha!

You know what.  I bet you could TOTALLY jerry rig a standoff that you could put around the shaft of the pot so when you secure the pot down, it'd secure down with it.  Get what I mean?

There's gotta be some kinda little "L" bracket that would work well for that! 

Dang, that's kind of interesting.  If I'm imagining it right, the L bracket would work for boards at a right angle to the pots, you'd need a C bracket for horizontal boards.  The C could get weird though, assembling it into the box, because the pot would be loose in the bracket and not want to line up with the enclosure hole.  Ooh, unless, the screw that comes in the bottom of the C, through the PCB, is just the right length to press against the bottom of the pot and hold the pot tight to the bracket.
                              __
                              l   l         
  ______________l   l____________  <--enclosure
                              l   l   <--pot shaft                                   
              r------------l   l---    <--- "C" bracket
              l          [pot body]                                                     
              l               l=l
              L_______l=l___
_______________l=l______________  <--- PCB         
                            [_._]  <--- screw

[Processaurus]

Kind of a proco/ DOD kind of move.  Actually, I think my rat uses long threaded bushing pots, and sticks the threaded bushing/shaft through the board, then a nut, then the enclosure, then another nut.

[devi ever]

What would be the bee's knees is if there were a standoff built into the bottom of the pot, and the legs on the pot were pc mount, but thin wires with a bend in them.  Free idea, if anyone here happens to own Alpha!

You know what.  I bet you could TOTALLY jerry rig a standoff that you could put around the shaft of the pot so when you secure the pot down, it'd secure down with it.  Get what I mean?

There's gotta be some kinda little "L" bracket that would work well for that!  

YES!  
Dang, that's kind of interesting.  If I'm imagining it right, the L bracket would work for boards at a right angle to the pots, you'd need a C bracket for horizontal boards.  The C could get weird though, assembling it into the box, because the pot would be loose in the bracket and not want to line up with the enclosure hole.  Ooh, unless, the screw that comes in the bottom of the C, through the PCB, is just the right length to press against the bottom of the pot and hold the pot tight to the bracket.
                             __
                             l   l          
 ______________l   l____________  <--enclosure
                             l   l   <--pot shaft                                  
             r------------l   l---    <--- "C" bracket
             l          [pot body]                                                    
             l               l=l
             L_______l=l___
_______________l=l______________  <--- PCB        
                           [_._]  <--- screw

Yes!

[davent]

What would be the bee's knees is if there were a standoff built into the bottom of the pot, and the legs on the pot were pc mount, but thin wires with a bend in them.  Free idea, if anyone here happens to own Alpha!

You know what.  I bet you could TOTALLY jerry rig a standoff that you could put around the shaft of the pot so when you secure the pot down, it'd secure down with it.  Get what I mean?

There's gotta be some kinda little "L" bracket that would work well for that! 

How 'bout just a flat 1/16" thick aluminum plate that has the the standoffs mounted near the bottom edge, pot holes along the top edge, then is held in place by the pot's mounting hardware, be easier then "L" brackets.  You'd need to countersink the standoff holes in the plate so the plate would lay flat against the bottom of the enclosure and make sure there's enough pot bushing length to pass through the plate and enclosure.

dave

[Processaurus]

                              __
                              l   l         
       _____________l   l____________  <--enclosure
                              l   l   <--pot shaft                                   
                 r---------l   l---    <--- "C" bracket
                 l       [pot body]                                                     
                 l             l=l
                 L_______l=l___
      ______________l=l______________  <--- PCB         
                            [_._]  <--- screw


Darned ASCII shows up different on some computers.  Mysterious.

[Processaurus]

How 'bout just a flat 1/16" thick aluminum plate that has the the standoffs mounted near the bottom edge, pot holes along the top edge, then is held in place by the pot's mounting hardware, be easier then "L" brackets.  You'd need to countersink the standoff holes in the plate so the plate would lay flat against the bottom of the enclosure and make sure there's enough pot bushing length to pass through the plate and enclosure.

dave

That could work well with some pots with ample thread, the ubiquitous Alpha 16mm is so skimpy though, I doubt it would leave enough sticking through the enclosure to get a nut on.  For the pots with enough thread though, absolutely, you could solve the loose pot in the bracket assembly issue by making the standoff the same height as the pot, and have the pot almost rest on the PCB. You could even make the bracket the right width so that the little locator tab touches it, to stop the pot from spinning.

[davent]

How 'bout just a flat 1/16" thick aluminum plate that has the the standoffs mounted near the bottom edge, pot holes along the top edge, then is held in place by the pot's mounting hardware, be easier then "L" brackets.  You'd need to countersink the standoff holes in the plate so the plate would lay flat against the bottom of the enclosure and make sure there's enough pot bushing length to pass through the plate and enclosure.

dave

That could work well with some pots with ample thread, the ubiquitous Alpha 16mm is so skimpy though, I doubt it would leave enough sticking through the enclosure to get a nut on.  For the pots with enough thread though, absolutely, you could solve the loose pot in the bracket assembly issue by making the standoff the same height as the pot, and have the pot almost rest on the PCB. You could even make the bracket the right width so that the little locator tab touches it, to stop the pot from spinning.

Thinking about this further after i shut down for the night, instead of the pots and hardware use the footswitch and hardware. The footswitches always have an excess of bushing and too you only have one hole to drill rather then 'x' number of pots, switches, led's etc. McMaster-Carr sell flathead screws with a very shallow head depth that would work well for joining the plates and standoffs. http://www.mcmaster.com/#machine-screws/=5mmwh2   Can't get a direct link to page so click through machine screws and look for flat under-cut  screws.
dave

[Smoky Barnable]

I use velcro.

[Steve Mavronis]

What about mounting 'semi-loose' by doing something like this inside the pedal enclosure using plastic standoffs with the PCB sandwiched in between?

[phector2004]

is it bad to just sandwich the board in extra wire? i mean unless its a big project, the thing weighs nothing and the wires absorb the impact and dont move much... it's kind of like a yolk sac in an egg

[walker]

i just completed my first boxed up build with a circuit board.  (i've done tap tempos and stuff before, and breadboarded things).  I went with Devi's electrical tape method, purely out of impatience, because I had tape, did not have standoffs.    I did it in blind faith (read: stupid faith) that the circuit would work without testing it.  Luckily it did.      With the tape, and the wires in there, it's not moving. 

[MoltenVoltage]

Just use packing peanuts.   

Seriously though, rather than taping up your PCB that may need modification or repair, use thinner (1/8") foam tape (available at Home Depot as weather stripping) and cover the inside of the enclosure where it might touch.  You can also cut pieces of shoebox cardboard to fit, and put them between the enclosure and PCB.

[walker]

my long term idea was to get some of that grey foam you see in morley pedals, glue some pieces of that in the case and nestle the board in between them.  But like I said, I was impatient.   

[verr76]

Hi..
Second post... I think... just been rearding ... and reading .... and reading...  ... all the great info around here.
For pcb mounting.. whenever it's posible I use a kind of extention for pcb mounted pots .. All I do is instead of wire or thin cable I use a little thicker gauge of cable so as it can support the weight of the circuit
http://i44.tinypic.com/123qgcm.jpg