At 10:43 PM 2/28/02 -0500, JanRwl@... wrote:
In a message dated 27-Feb-02 10:42:43 Central Standard Time,
j_hallows@... writes:
Other than using eyelets has anyone made Plated Thru Hole at Home and
can give some tips?
I use 2 methods:
'Track Pins' made by Harwin (UK, I think). We used to get them from Arrow/Bell but I don't know if they still have them.
These are a stick of tapered pins that you push into the hole, then snap off. Nice tight fit into a #66 hole. Quick, fast, reliable. Only down side is that they are good for vias only - they fill the hole so you can't put a component lead through.
Multicore makes a system called Copperset <>
This is a little stick of solid solder which has copper and tin electroplated over it. It is then scored at intervals slightly more than the average PCB thickness. You drill the via holes to the correct diameter, then insert the stick and snap off the vias one at at time. You then use an impact punch to squash the via - doing so causes the solid solder rod to expand the copper / tin coating so as to grip the sides of the hole in the PCB. Solder both sides of the via, then vacuum out the solder if you need to put a component lead in.
I have one and use if occasionally - it works well but is actually more work than the Harwin Track pins I mentioned earlier.
It works best if you use it before the board is populated - place the board on a smooth steel surface, insert the feed-through pins, then set them with the impact punch.
dwayne
Dwayne Reid <dwayner@...>
Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
(780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax
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