DIY PCB via's anyone?

Thread Starter

Evil Lurker

Joined Aug 25, 2011
116
Anyone have a good way to do these? I have seen the micro rivets and solid wire methods, but none of them really seem to be worth a darn and not exactly easy to implement. Tried fooling around with some copper tape and rolling it into tubes, had a bit of luck but nothing spectacular. Tried the solid wire cylinder method, but that is a PITA if you don't have a drill the exact diameter of the wire, plus you need some sort of substrate that you can sand the ends of the wire flat. But yet PCB manufacturers are able to do them in all sizes effortlessly.

I mean just how the heck to they form the copper into such tiny tubes and cut them to length anyways? Closest thing I can imagine doing is taking some ultra-fine gauge copper wire, forming it into a coil around an inert hunk of plastic then electroplating the wires into solid tubing.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I heard the word, "barrels". Apparently the manufacturers were inserting hollow tubes with convex sides into the holes. Not expecting you to buy a box of barrels. That technology is about 50 years old.
 

tubeguy

Joined Nov 3, 2012
1,157
With your own double-sided PCB, soldering both sides on through-hole components and using wire to connect other pads might not be THAT bad :rolleyes:
 

Kermit2

Joined Feb 5, 2010
4,162
The solid wire method requires you to solder the wire on both sides of the PCB, instead of on one. That is about as easy as it is GOING to get for DIY vias.

use a longer piece of wire and bend it 'U' shaped to prevent it moving or unsoldering its first side, when doing the soldering. Then go back with wire cutters and 'nip' it fairly close to the board. Try to leave the 'fillet' alone, so the vias will look like the other soldered components leads. I'm saying don't trim it to close.
 

nicsky

Joined Aug 1, 2009
11
conductive silver ink !
Little wire ( stripped wire wrap wire)
USE a PCB service ( a number are consignment services which are cheap
 
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