Secureing pcb to enclosure

[whomeno]

How do you guys secure your pcbs in side of the enclosures? Need some ideas.
Thanks

[bluebunny]

Many of the PCBs I use have board-mounted pots, so it's a non-issue (the board is held by the pots).  If it's one of my own vero designs, I'll use double-sided adhesive foam pads to attach the board to the back of the pots (which all have covers).

[iainpunk]

i mostly use threaded standoffs, so i can just put a bolt in from the outside of the enclosure and stick the threaded end of the standoff through a larger hole in the PCB.

i also use this for my only enclosure ground connection, dont make more than one, ground loops are bad



i mostly use larger tins as enclosures

[Ben N]

There are also self-adhesive plastic standoffs. I think Smallbear and Tayda have them.

[Kipper4]

I hotmelt thick card to the non componant side then hotmelt to the back and of the pots.
As bunny says I buy the pots with dust covers.
I also tactically use hotmelt to avoid pots twisting should they come loose and causing a lug short on the enclosure. Sometimes combined with wiring runs.
Works for me.

[Axldeziak]

I tend to use the standoff method using small machine screws with nuts above and below the board. A dab of glue or nail polish will keep them from backing out. Depending on the space allowed I use one or two nuts underneath to keep the board from grounding out. If space is limited I use just one and glue or tape a double thick piece of cardstock under the board. Countersink the enclosure holes and use angled heads to make it flush with the bottom.
For tiny veros I've also sewn the vero to a larger piece of cardstock and then mounted the cardboard to the enclosure. Those times I cut the board too short to drill mounting holes or was using a bit of scrap vero.

[StephenGiles]

Bluetack back in the day but I think I would try Sugru should I ever actually box something now.

[deadastronaut]

for quickie builds with vero..

same as others with dust cap pots...double sided tape on back of vero stick to back of pots

and add old school rectangle of foam to hold in place on top....replace foam every ten years 

for pcbs, i tend to have switching options, so the switch holds the pcb in place...

[whomeno]

Thanks for all the replies!

[amptramp]

Another vote here for standoffs and machine screws.  Input, output and power jacks mount from the inside so you don't have to unsolder anything to get the board out because all the nuts are on the outside of the enclosure (including me).  I use the anti-rotation tangs on pots and rotary switches  to make sure everything is locked in position.

[blackieNYC]

Most of mine are “shock mounted” -suspended in a rats nest of off-board wiring...  No I will not post pictures.

[anotherjim]

It's a never-ending quest and part of the assembly process I hate. I've even gone so far as to use 2 boards so they can be narrow enough to go vertical and held by standard pcb pinned Alpha pots. Most simple circuits from boosters to 2 transistor fuzzes can fit on one board anyway if pcb or perf. Stripboard too if you are careful and use point to point wire links instead of needing tracks to jumper connections.

Today I finally got around to ordering x100 nylon 3mm threaded standoffs and round & countersink headed machine screws.

[highwater]

I don't have any *good* ideas, but I know of one thing NOT to do: wrapping the circuit board in anti-static foam. It's conductive, which isn't much better than letting a bare PCB float-around in a box.

For what it's worth, I use bubble-wrap... but I also build my pedals in electrical junction boxes with sharpie for labels... if I box them up at all. It's probably a better idea to book a Captain Beefheart cover band at a dance club than to follow my example.

[vigilante397]

Most of mine are “shock mounted” -suspended in a rats nest of off-board wiring...

I did it that way for quite a while used solid core wire so it was kind of springy but held itself all in place.

[bluebunny]

^^ Yeah, done that too.  Often.    But with stranded wire.  Remarkably resilient!   

[Ben N]

It's probably a better idea to book a Captain Beefheart cover band at a dance club than to follow my example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7uoA7DnhNw

[GibsonGM]

"Shock mounted" like Blackie said above, and put foam on the solder side to keep it off the bottom of the enclosure.  Works well, never had any problem with it.
Might need to change foam every 10 yrs, yup!

[highwater]

It's probably a better idea to book a Captain Beefheart cover band at a dance club than to follow my example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7uoA7DnhNw

I never would have thought... but then again, the only thing I know how to dance to is architecture.