Construction tip - tripod legs for the PCB

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memology
 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:14 pm

Construction tip - tripod legs for the PCB

Post by memology »

When inserting and soldering components, you have to repeatedly switch from working on one side of the Printed Circuit Board to the other. A very cheap and versatile method for doing this, if you don't have the "right" bit of kit (a vice / clamp?) is to use medium to high density foam to make tripod legs for the PCB. It should be fairly stiff foam, but slightly flexible, like the stuff used to support keyboards / rack equipment when they are in their original transport packaging.

Cut 3 pieces to the approximate dimensions: 3 x 3 x 12 cm. To mount these legs make a cut half way along each piece to a depth of 1/3 to 1/2 the width - you can use a kitchen knife to cut and shape the foam. By flexing the foam this cut will open up and you can then clip it onto the edge of the PCB ie push PCB into the cut. Do this with all 3 pieces around the edges of the PCB.

If you've used dense enough foam you should now have a rigid support for your PCB, which holds the PCB 6cm up from your work surface, and that can be turned over to give you access to the other side. By using 3 pieces you get the tripod effect where all three legs are planted firmly and the PCB cannot wobble. You can easily move the legs around the edge of the PCB to keep them out of the way of your soldering iron/ the section of the PCB you are working on. You can further shape the legs to give you greater access to the PCB, using a carving or craft knife, eg. make them shorter / taper them.

If you don't have any dense foam you can use expanded polystyrene but this is more fragile and can break up if you flex it too much. Alternatively you could make legs using corrugated cardboard.

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