Homebrew PCBs

At 07:12 PM 4/6/03 +0000, grantfair2001 wrote:

>I am curious how others hold their PCB in the etchant. I have some
>1/4" PVC sheet I can use to make some kind of holder but no "aha"
>experiences have come to mind yet.

I'll see if I can verbally describe what I use.  I'll also see about 
posting pictures in that folder on YahooGroups (later).

3 raw materials used for my PCB holders: 3/16" stainless steel rod 
(available from welding and metal supplier outlets), 1/2" thick 
polyethylene (I cut up one of those cheap plastic cutting boards from a 
Dollar store), nylon 10-32 bolts.

1) Slice the cutting board into 3/4" wide strips.

2) Separate the strips into 2 groups: end pieces and sliders.  At this 
point, the pieces look the same - there is no difference between them.

3) Drill 2- 7/32" holes into the strips marked as sliders: about 3/8" from 
each end.  The holes go through the 3/4" dimension.  The holes all have to 
line up: if you were to slide the stainless steel rod through the holes, 
the resulting panel would look almost how it looked before you sliced it up.

4) Drill a 9/64" into the end of each slider to that it meets the hole 
drilled through.  Thread those holes with a 10-32 tap.  If you slide the 
stainless steel rod through the hole, you would be able to use a 10-32 bolt 
to lock the rod in place.

5) Drill 2- 11/64" holes into the strips marked as end pieces.  They must 
be in the same location as the holes in the sliders (about 3/8" from each 
end).  These holes are smaller than the diameter of the stainless rod and 
are intended to be press-fit (hammered) onto the rods.

6) Use a router and V-bit to cut a V-groove into both long sides of each 
slider and into 1 side only of each end piece.  You are grooving the narrow 
(1/2") dimension.

7) Cut the stainless steel rod into the length you want.  You need 2 pieces 
for each holder.  Use a grinder or file to round each end to that you can 
easily pound the end pieces onto the rods.

8) Assemble the frames!  Pound the stainless steel rods into one of the end 
pieces, slip 2 sliders onto the rods, then pound another end piece onto the 
ends of the rods.  Thread nylon 10-32 screws into the locking holes on the 
sliders.  Done!

dwayne

-- 
Dwayne Reid   <dwayner@...>
Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd    Edmonton, AB, CANADA
(780) 489-3199 voice          (780) 487-6397 fax

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