The important thing is to get a good electrical contact between the
metal and 'grounding part'. Just relying on contact between say, a pot
and the panel, is not guaranteed to provide an electrical path.
Aluminium is a problem because it oxidises very quickly so it needs to
be cleaned immediately before assembly.
The only point not touched on here is what is used for a ground rail.
The Oakley system provides for a dedicated ground which is used to
ground all metal parts (rack rails, housings and front panels) but it
only works in strictly Oakley populated systems. As soon as you add a
module from a different manufacturer the 'ground' becomes shorted to the
signal ground.
The euro-rack systems don't provide for a panel ground so we just use
the signal ground. I have never had an issue with this and it seems to
work well.
I provide a dedicated panel_gnd pad on my pcbs allowing a tag to be
soldered to the board (by a short piece of wire). The tag can then be
slid over a pot shaft, jack body or whatever is convenient and then gets
sandwiched between the component and the front panel. Our front panels
have a special finish which improves the long-term electrical
conductivity of the panels so a ground connection should remain good for
a long time.
Best Regards
Laurie Biddulph
Mobile: 0400 257 645
Phone: +61 (0)2 4340 0938
Web: www.elby-designs.com
Skype: widgetoz
Elby Designs
9 Follan Close
Kariong
NSW 2250
Australia
metal and 'grounding part'. Just relying on contact between say, a pot
and the panel, is not guaranteed to provide an electrical path.
Aluminium is a problem because it oxidises very quickly so it needs to
be cleaned immediately before assembly.
The only point not touched on here is what is used for a ground rail.
The Oakley system provides for a dedicated ground which is used to
ground all metal parts (rack rails, housings and front panels) but it
only works in strictly Oakley populated systems. As soon as you add a
module from a different manufacturer the 'ground' becomes shorted to the
signal ground.
The euro-rack systems don't provide for a panel ground so we just use
the signal ground. I have never had an issue with this and it seems to
work well.
I provide a dedicated panel_gnd pad on my pcbs allowing a tag to be
soldered to the board (by a short piece of wire). The tag can then be
slid over a pot shaft, jack body or whatever is convenient and then gets
sandwiched between the component and the front panel. Our front panels
have a special finish which improves the long-term electrical
conductivity of the panels so a ground connection should remain good for
a long time.
Best Regards
Laurie Biddulph
Mobile: 0400 257 645
Phone: +61 (0)2 4340 0938
Web: www.elby-designs.com
Skype: widgetoz
Elby Designs
9 Follan Close
Kariong
NSW 2250
Australia
On 11/02/2015 9:41 PM, ukukey@... [cgs_synth] wrote:
>
>
> Thanks Laurie for sharing your wisdom ;)
> Scraping the back of the panel sounds like a good idea, I will do this
> on all my modules from now on.
>
>