Needing ideas for mounting PCBs to wood or plastic

Thread Starter

ElectEng

Joined Sep 3, 2019
42
Hello everyone,
Any ideas on how or what material to mount my circuit cards? I have roughly 6 circuit cards and 2 NEMA 17 stepper motors that I want to temporary / permanently mount for organization and testing purposes. In my mind I am thinking some type of wood or plastic. The cards will probably be moved and mounted inside an enclosure once/if the enclosure is built in a few months.

All cards have surface mount components and are no bigger than 3 x 3 inches , besides the Arduino mega. The Arduino Mega will be placed in the center with all other cards mounted around it.

The holes for all cards, besides the Arduino Mega, are 2.54mm in diameter and spaced 900mm apart. I am assuming I will need to find spacers to keep all circuit cards off of the mounting board.

Also, I do not have any type of saw, press, or any other equipment besides an electric screwdriver.
 

SteveSh

Joined Nov 5, 2019
109
900 mm apart - that's 35.4". Are you sure the mounting holes are that far apart?

Why nor just use a piece of plywood, say 1/4" thick. You would need a drill & bit to drill holes in the plywood to mount your standoffs. Use your extsing circuit boards as a template to match drill the plywood.

You might also consider a piece of vector board instead of the plywood.
 

Thread Starter

ElectEng

Joined Sep 3, 2019
42
900 mm apart - that's 35.4". Are you sure the mounting holes are that far apart?

Why nor just use a piece of plywood, say 1/4" thick. You would need a drill & bit to drill holes in the plywood to mount your standoffs. Use your extsing circuit boards as a template to match drill the plywood.

You might also consider a piece of vector board instead of the plywood.

You're right its 900 mil NOT 900 mm. So that's 22.86mm.

I was originally thinking of something like plywood.
 

Thread Starter

ElectEng

Joined Sep 3, 2019
42
Not even a drill? That's going to be tough...

Are you concerned about aesthetics? Meaning holes drilled in the mounting surface to attach standoffs?
I do have an electric drill and an array of drill bits. I am slightly worried about Aesthetics but am willing to sacrifice them for now if I need to.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
Lets just say you need some type of substrate that won't warp or a frame. Acrylic, polycarbonate, wood. The standoffs work like F-F, but on the opposite side, you would need a flat head screw. Lots of times you can raise the frame with rubber bumpers.

Thick wood and plastic work well with Ez-Loc. https://www.ezlok.com/ Pick a side you want to attach better and use lockwashers or Locktite 222 ( a low strength thread locker)

Around here 1/8 poycarbonate is used for windows and it can be had, cut to size at a hardware store.

Holes can drill better in plastic with a little dishwashing liquid and water. Pilot or Brad point bits work the best. There are bits made for plastic. I've re-ground 5/8" bits for plastic use.
 
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