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copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Ande_3

All,

I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.

What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
the company who sells them.

The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
solder both sides to the via pad.

Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm looking
for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while soldering.
The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.

Please reply if you have any helpful info!

Thanks,
Ande

copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Ande_3

All,

I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.

What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
the company who sells them.

The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
solder both sides to the via pad.

Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm looking
for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while soldering.
The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.

Please reply if you have any helpful info!

Thanks,
Ande

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by DHC

How about:

http://www.t-tech.com/materials/throughhole/


Cheers,
Darcy
Australia

Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
From: Ande_3
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 11:18 PM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping


All,

I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.

What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
the company who sells them.

The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
solder both sides to the via pad.

Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm looking
for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while soldering.
The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.

Please reply if you have any helpful info!

Thanks,
Ande



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Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Stefan Trethan

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 12:18:53 -0000, Ande_3 <boyerj@...> wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text
> All,
>
> What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
> used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. Thanks,
> Ande
>

Did only I get the mail two times or all?
i regularly get group mails 2 or three times the exact copy, wonder if
this is a fault on my side or on the far end.


To the rivets:

Bungard in europe makes them, Reichelt Germany (mail order) sells them.
they are way too expensive (for what they are).


We have discussed the topic not long ago, discussing other ways to do what
you want.
I think thin wires are better (cheaper) and not more difficult to use.
Still i do very few 2-sided boards.
Need to buy zero-ohm smd resistors soon, sometimes they would be a great
help while routing.
(and soldering on a smd is a work of maybe 5 seconds).

ST

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by DHC

And another one:

http://www.contacteast.com/product/group.asp?parent_id=6804


Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
From: DHC
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping


How about:

http://www.t-tech.com/materials/throughhole/


Cheers,
Darcy
Australia

----- Original Message -----
From: Ande_3
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 11:18 PM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping


All,

I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.

What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
the company who sells them.

The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
solder both sides to the via pad.

Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm looking
for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while soldering.
The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.

Please reply if you have any helpful info!

Thanks,
Ande



Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Bookmarks and files:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs


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Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] multiple emails

2004-02-06 by Stefan Trethan

On Fri, 6 Feb 2004 07:00:12 -0800, Dave Hylands <dhylands@...>
wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text
> Hi Stefan,
>
>> Did only I get the mail two times or all?
>> i regularly get group mails 2 or three times the exact copy,
>> wonder if this is a fault on my side or on the far end.
>
> I got two copies of the original email, but only one copy of each reply.
>
> --
> Dave Hylands
> Vancouver, BC, Canada
> http://www.DaveHylands.com/
>

me too...

I really wonder why this is.
Sometimes i get 3 copies of a group mail.
But i have the feeling this happens more often in other groups than here.

Is this just the sender, sending it twice ("because it didn't show up") or
what?

It is not really a problem to just ignore it, but i would like to know the
reason.
it is twice in the archives too.


@Ande,

did you send it twice or not, honestly?


ST

Re: copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Dave Mucha

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Ande_3" <boyerj@u...> wrote:
> All,
>
> I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.
>
> What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to
be
> used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've
used
> them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
> the company who sells them.
>
> The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
> has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
> drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
> solder both sides to the via pad.
>
> Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm
looking
> for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
> doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while
soldering.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.
>
> Please reply if you have any helpful info!
>
> Thanks,
> Ande


I have some of a similar pin as T-Tech SIP Sockets on order from Digi-
key.

They press into the DIP holes and allow one to solder both sides and
wind up with a socket on board. They are kinda pricey, close to 10
cents each, but (hopefully) will make life easier.

Also, I have used them as resistor sockets on boards for pulgging and
un-plugging resistors. Makes life MUCH easier !

Dave

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Stefan Trethan

>
> I have some of a similar pin as T-Tech SIP Sockets on order from Digi-
> key.
>
> They press into the DIP holes and allow one to solder both sides and
> wind up with a socket on board. They are kinda pricey, close to 10
> cents each, but (hopefully) will make life easier.
>
> Also, I have used them as resistor sockets on boards for pulgging and
> un-plugging resistors. Makes life MUCH easier !
>
> Dave
>

I use the pins of old computer cpu sockets for this.
they have a hell lot of pins and are of no good use anyway (if you don't
need a cpu
on your board). the ones without the lever from 386/486 cpus are fine.
they have the round turned socket pins embed in a rather hard brittle
plastic.
(can be easily broken free with side cutting pliers)

such old mainboards are easy to get here, and as said one has quite a few
pins...
and they cost no 10 cents.......

are designed for round pins, with a leaf spring inside i think, perfect
for resistors
but do work too with flat dil pins... (but dil sockets are cheap)...


BUT they do not fit into the hole (to be flat with the pcb), unless you
make it 1,5mm or so.
(they have a thin wire on the end like a turned pin dil socket).

ST

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by JanRwl@AOL.COM

In a message dated 2/6/2004 6:22:56 AM Central Standard Time, boyerj@...
writes:
What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
the company who sells them.
Ande: International Eyelets. Sorry, I have NO clue of their address, etc.,
but a simple Google search should getcha whatcha want. I have used a few of
theirs, gold-plated phosphor bronze, and some with tin plating, but the latter
have to be quite fresh to solder well. TINY, delicate. I use an awl to
spread the inserted end, once "home". By hand. No drill-press necessary.

These should ALWAYS be soldered! I prefer to at least TIN the pad before
inserting the eylets, to make sure "SOME solder got UNDER there".

There are flat, belled, and horn-shaped "heads" available, at least for SOME
manufacturer of these. One might beg a tiny bag of samples to make up his
mind.

Lossa luck! Jan Rowland


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-06 by Dick Ballard

Many years ago Tektronix used this method in a small (3 inch?) rack
mount scope module. There were many intermittent failures due to
differential thermal expansion of the PCB material and the rivets. We
had several of these units where I worked and we had to periodically
resolder all of the rivetted vias.

Dick Ballard
Beaverton OR
W7AND


Show quoted textHide quoted text
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 12:18:53 -0000, you wrote:

>I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.
>
>What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
>used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
>them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
>the company who sells them.
>
>The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
>has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
>drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
>solder both sides to the via pad.
>
>Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm looking
>for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
>doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while soldering.
>The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.

Re: copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-07 by Dave Mucha

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Ande_3" <boyerj@u...> wrote:
> All,
>
> I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.
>
> What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to
be
> used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've
used
> them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
> the company who sells them.
>
> The are intended to be used like a rivet where one side of the tube
> has a flange and the other is bent over using a special tool on a
> drill press. However, I find it much quicker and better to simply
> solder both sides to the via pad.
>
> Does anyone know where I can find these? Basically what I'm
looking
> for is some kind of conductor to solder in my via holes. Wire
> doesn't realy work since it has to be held in place while
soldering.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> The flanges in these little copper cylindars worked great for that.
>
> Please reply if you have any helpful info!
>
> Thanks,
> Ande


I pulled up a board I did last year and it had over 300 pins, and
about 25 thru holes.

I had laid it on a piece of styrofoam, very thin stuff from packing
and stuck resistors into the foam. Soldered and nipped.

I just check an old Pentium... something.. 300 pins. all soft and
bent too easy. that means to me they would be more messy than
resistor leads.

I have a collegue who uses 22ga wire, strips off and uses that.

I would like something a little less home brew, but every time I
look, resistors keep comming up as the best source.

Dave

Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] copper tube via's for PCB prototyping

2004-02-07 by Dwayne Reid

At 05:18 AM 2/6/2004, Ande_3 wrote:
>All,
>
>I'm trying to track down a PCB prototyping item and need some help.
>
>What I'm looking for are small copper tubes which are intended to be
>used for PCB vias instead of electroplating through holes. I've used
>them before and think they're great but cannot remember the name of
>the company who sells them.

We use two different products for this: "Trak Pins" from Harwin and
"CopperSet" from Multi-core.

The Harwin trak pins are used for vias - it is a stick of little tapered
pins that fit tightly into a #66 drill hole. Push it it, bend it to snap
that pin from the stick, then solder both sides. I think that each stick
has around 50 pins in it.

The Multi-core CopperSet system is really neat: I use it when a component
lead has to go through the hole. It consists of sticks of solder that have
been electroplated with copper & tin, then scored. You put the board on a
hard steel plate, push the stick (they call it a "bail") into the hole,
then snap it off. You then use a little impact punch to mash down the
protruding part of the pin - this causes it to expand radially and tightly
grip the hole. Do all the holes that need it, then solder all those holes
on both sides. Now use a desoldering tool to clean the excess solder from
inside the holes.

Works like a darn! But it is time consuming and the replacement bails are
expensive.

In summary: the Harwin trak pins fill the holes and thus are good for vias
only. The Multi-core Copperset system gives you the equivalent of plated
through holes.

dwayne

PS - if anyone knows of a less expensive place to purchase replacement
bails for the Copperset system, could you please post the information.

Thanks!

dwayne

--
Dwayne Reid <dwayner@...>
Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
(780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax

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