PCB Holder

Right,

One of the many jobs in the works is the construction of an awesome electronics kit which will unlock more stuff, more on that in subsequent posts.

To assist the build of this kit and subsequent other electronic projects a decent holder will make flipping between sides of the board for soldering a lot easier. Im sure these things are available commercially, but one can be made pretty easily.

Finest quality engineering polyethylene

Base marked up

Rough cut out with a jig saw

Loaded onto the mill for milling to size

The polyethylene mills easily

Milling corners, this was the biggest shape that I could get out of the chopping board, this is derived from the size of the PCB that this is going to work with first

Blocking up uprights from the thicker board as these will need to hold threads later

Marked for drilling

Drilling

Cutting the counterbore with an endmill, depth marked with tape as the Z axis handwheel markings are pretty useless, the kit that will made at the end of this will remove this problem completely...

Drilling the uprights

Tapping uprights M5x0.8

Clip and spindle assembly made from plated coat hanger wire and crocodile clips, bonded with epoxy then heat shrink finished 

More heat shrink makes soft jaws

Uprights fixed with socket head cap screws

PCB holder done, the clips can be moved in and out to accommodate different size boards, the screws on top of the uprights lock the spindles so the board can be held in any orientation

Thats that,

The PCB shown in the last image is the basis of the kit that will be covered in following posts.

Job's good,

Pete