In a message dated 5/10/2003 2:50:02 AM Central Standard Time,
stefan_trethan@... writes:
> these cylinders look like pop rivets,
Those are called "eyelets" and the conventional way to install them is to
first make certain that your copper traces are shiny-clean, or tin/lead
plated!, paint the top, at least, with appropriately-thinned "rosin flux"
sold for the purpose, insert the "rivets", lay the "heads" (generally the
"top") down on a steel plate, and push an awl-tip into each, spreading them
tightly on the bottom surface of the hole. Then CAREFULLY solder them
("sweat-solder") on top, wiping off any excess, so there is no "solder-lump"
on the top, nor FILLING the hole (unless this was a via, only, not for a
component-lead). If the eyelets you use are not TOO long (you are not using
those for 1/8" boards on 1/16" stock, for example), soldering a
component-lead in them, and the eyelet-bottom to the trace below can be done
as you would solder any lead "on the solder-side".
Seems I recall a firm-name "International Eylelets"? I got a sample-pack of
VERY TINY gold-plated eylets from them years back, too small for anything but
leads on a 1/8 W. resistor! Try a Google search! The firm KEPRO, which
handles all kindsa PCB stuff surely has eylets, and/or can tell us where to
go (yes, laff, if you must!). I also got a few hundred "we don't stock
such; just happened to have these!" HUGE ones from a local surplus house
(1/16" O.D., and the flange-O.D. was like 0.110!) tin-ELECTRO-plated, so
there wasn't enough tin to "DO anything", and they were years old, so not
excellently-solderable any longer. One must use experience, balance need
with hassle, and tolerate one's own need to vent a gale of fetid wind, from
time to time!
Jan Rowland, Old Troll
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