Circuit Board Hardware – The Design Engineers Guide
3 minutes
minutes | 26 Jul 2018
KEY APPLICATIONS FOR CIRCUIT BOARD HARDWARE
Your final product is only as good as the components you use.
Whatever your design requirements, our extensive range can help. Whether it’s high conductivity or resistance to corrosion, our high-quality solutions are available in a range of materials and mounting types. We can also help with free samples and CAD downloads to make your selection process even easier.
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
Whether insulation or conductivity is required, you can enhance functionality and protect your design.
Ensure design quality with:
- Hex spacer– made of stainless steel to protect against corrosion. Robust and secure, they are ideal for electronics regularly moved around
- LED mount – easily snapped into standard panel holes by hand. The LED will lock into place when inserted from the rear of the panel to provide a secure and attractive display
- Reverse mounted circuit board support – acts as an insulator to avoid short circuits. Low protrusion saves space while large diameter supporting foot provides extra strength
ELECTRICAL CABINETS
Versatile solutions when space and accessibility is essential.
Build functional products with:
- Dual locking circuit board support – one-piece moulded construction for high strength with unique snap locking for a secure fix
- Horizontal card guide – ideal for tight spaces, with two tapered ends for quick and easy insertion while providing a neat, finished appearance
- Spacer – cost-effective alternative to metal. Absorbs shock and vibration, and available in a wide range of sizes to cover most diameters
WHITE GOODS
A wide range of solutions designed to meet your specific requirements for performance and heat stability.
Enhance the life of your design with:
- Touch control spacer – spring provides constant contact force between PCB mounted infrared sensors and the touch panel cover
- Blind hole mount circuit board support - easy to apply by hand, the fir tree mount is perfect for applications with different hole sizes
- Metric low voltage insulator – prevents large panels and circuit boards from bending. Halogen free and fibreglass reinforced, they offer high resistance to leakage current
OFFICE MACHINERY
Prevent malfunctions in applications that are in constant use with a wide range of industrial strength solutions
Ensure consistent performance with:
- Hex spacer – screw-in design for easy install by hand. Ideal for spacing circuit boards, panels, doors or gears
- LED spacer – provide height control and lead wire retention and stability. Self-retaining feature for auto insertion and pre-assembly
- Hex threaded standoff – locks circuit boards in place. Features high torque locking and grounding features and can be secured using a nylon hex nut
1 - KNOW YOUR APPLICATION
- PCB substrate – Fibreglass PCBs deliver strength and flexibility so it’s best to use a snap in or snap fit spacer. Paperboard PCBs are more rigid and can fracture. Use a push spacer to give support without penetrating the PCB, even when there is no mounting point.
- Space limitations – If stacking multiple PCBs, then use an active element such as a wing or arrowhead, particularly when using boards with lower weight tolerances.
2 - CONSIDER THE MATERIAL
Plastic: Nylon, PVC, Acetal and PEEK®.Key benefits:
- Resistance to corrosive substances
- Cost effective for high volume manufacturing
- Lightweight
- Non-conductive, eliminating short-circuits
Key benefits:
- Electrical conductivity to maintain a circuit
- High tensile strength and impact resistance
3 - WHICH MOUNTING TYPE?
- Threaded – held in position with the use of a nut to give a very secure fixing
- Snap Lock – pushes into a panel or chassis hole, giving a secure but easily releasable fix
- Snap Fit – quickly pushes into a panel or chassis hole
- Press Fit / Blind Hole Spacer – fins hold securely to a range of binding holes with a pointed style
- Adhesive Base – adhesive tape eliminates the
