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Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: brass tube vias DONT DO IT

From: Rob <roomberg@...>
Date: 2017-11-03

Hi Ancel,
Can you be more specific.....which..... some of these vias?

Is there a look you could point to?



On 11/02/2017 10:32 PM, AncelB mosaicmerc@... [Homebrew_PCBs] wrote:
 

I ordered some of these vias from Ali express..

Seems to be a reasonable item providing that they are soldered in
directly. They also look good for creating non slip test points for
scope probes.

Ancel

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 WOW!
That was a very educational discussion pretty much settling on DON'T DO IT.

I was not having anything lined up now that required vias.
I had just stumbled onto the brass tubes in a hobby shop and remembered someone posting questions
about vias here so I bought a few and checked out their mechanical fit..... never actually soldering anything.

Thanks for the education!



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You may think that you have a good connection. The top manufacturing company who made the bad boards that I had to repair over and over again certainly did. But you can not trust it. PERIOD. The brass is swagged over the copper trace with a solder coating on it. Both brass and solder alloys are soft metals and expansion/contraction cycles will open a gap large enough for oxygen and other corrosive gasses in the air to penetrate. You will get oxidization and other forms of corrosion and eventually the joint may/will fail. And it will be HELL to find and repair especially with low level, high impedance signals. You could wind up completely replacing a PCB that cost hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars. I have seen it. I have fought it. Brass tubing or hollow brass rivets MUST be soldered for reliability and there is NO way to inspect that solder joint. It will look perfectly normal on the outside while it is was never a proper joint underneath and corrosion sets in. That is, assuming that the brass was not coated with corrosion before it was inserted in the hole.


USE soldered Z wires so you can see and inspect the solder joint if you want a dependable joint. Or get a board made with plated holes.



:
"Dale Chatham
said,


> The one thing one could do with the brass tubing is to make a conical
> tool for both sides which will flange the tubing.  Done right, it would
> produce an airtight seal and solder would be superfluous (though highly
> advised).
On 11/01/2017 07:56 PM, Paul Alciatore palciatore@... [Homebrew_PCBs] wrote:

>
> YES, it is different than solid wire. Solid wire is copper and usually
> plated with tin or solder so that it takes solder easily. Brass, if left
> standing for any amount of time can acquire a coating of oxide which
> resists solder adhesion. And most electronic fluxes are not formulated
> to handle this. You would have to scrupulously clean the brass
> immediately before inserting it and soldering it if you want reliable
> connections. I have a lot of experience with brass that was "soldered"
> to PCBs.
>
> James said,
>
> > Without rivet heads, is it really any different than solid core wire of
> > appropriate thickness?