support/bracket for hall effect sensor

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ebeowulf17
 
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support/bracket for hall effect sensor

Post by ebeowulf17 »

I’m working on designing a circuit board which will use a hall effect sensor to detect the position of a magnet on a rotating arm. The available space has led me to a design which has the hall effect sensor coming straight out of the board (through hole mount) with its sensor plane perpendicular to the PCB. When left unsupported, the sensor is pretty easy to knock around and bend out of shape, so I’d like something more secure to hold it in the right orientation. I’m imagining something that would be quite similar to the heat sinks available for small transistors, but I can’t find anything that seems quite right for this sensor.

The sensor is a Honeywell SS494B (same package as the entire SS490 series: SIP-3 with pins 0.05” apart from each other, and NOT a TO-92 package as at least one vendor website claims!) If anyone can help me find what I’m looking for or suggest another way to support the sensor in a tight space, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks,
Eric
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Image of sensor on small PCB
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zener
 
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Re: support/bracket for hall effect sensor

Post by zener »

How about cut out a small rectangle of Plexiglas, either 1/8" or 1/4", with a hole for the sensor body and a hole for the screw? Just sandwich that on top of the board and it will protect the sensor.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: support/bracket for hall effect sensor

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

You could also pot the leads between the package and the PCB in a blob of hot-melt glue. It will increase the cross-sectional area available to absorb force, shorten the lever arm that acts to bend the leads, and will spring back rather than deforming.

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ebeowulf17
 
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Re: support/bracket for hall effect sensor

Post by ebeowulf17 »

Both great suggestions, but not quite what I need - I should have been more clear.

I'm currently hand-building prototype circuits, but the goal is to have these boards produced in large batches. Our electronics manufacturer won't promise that the height or orientation of the sensor will be consistent without some component there to lock it in place, and we don't want to have to manually bend each one into the right orientation when they come in. (we also may be getting the entire board potted, in which case the orientation would be stuck, for better or for worse, before we ever had a chance to check it.)

Ideally, I need to find something that can be attached to the board at the same time as the sensor's installation so that it gets put in right the first time.

Thanks for the tips though - I'll keep those in mind for future projects!

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lyndon
 
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Re: support/bracket for hall effect sensor

Post by lyndon »

Like this?
Transistor sockets used to be easy to find, but not so much anymore.

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