So I’ve made a little fledglingproduct…a PCB 3" X 1.75" …it’s took me a while to get to the final design, but it’s all done & dusted.
But here’s the thing…my buyers will be buying the product in pcb form for connecting into their existing stuff …and there’s my problem.
The product has a few wires connected/soldered to the board (sort of hanging in the air), I’m worried about stresses on the wire when the user fits. Additionally, the copper tarnishes (I make this on a home CNC machine…I’ll outsource when they start selling in sifficienbt numbers!)…ok, so I can polish the copper, then laquer it, but frankly, it’s a faff i still looks a bit home made.
So I figured some form of encapsulation will be the way to go…it will mask the copper from view and provide strength for the wires where they connect to the PCB …but I’ve hit a knowledge gap! What would be the best (best here means easiest to work with, least time consuming to do & cheap!) material to encapsulate with. It doesn’t have to be particularly robust becuase once fitted there’ll be no stresses…equally it’s not going into a harsh evnoriment…nope this is just to firm the wire connections up & make it look semi pro.
i’m looking for a solution that doesn’t cost the earth, will look reasonabvle and can be done in the home!
For protection against the elements, coating in PCB lacquer (in a spray can, from an electronics store) is effective. If you want a thicker coating or strain relief , silicone sealant (from the hardware store) can work well, as long as it’s the non-acetic cure type.
However, based on your description, I’d suggest just “encapsulating” the board with a piece of heatshrink tubing. You can buy “potting boxes” and special epoxy from Digikey / Newark etc, but it might be overkill for your application.
BTW, I recommend Seeed Studio for your boards: 10 PCBs for $10 and MUCH nicer than most homemade PCBs.
You should look into Seeed Studio or Itead Studio for premade boards; 10 boards with mask and silkscreen will be $22 plus shipping; for larger quantities, drop them an email and they will send a quote.
What is the board quality like? I’m the suspicious type who tends to believe that you get what you pay for and if the boards are noticeably cheaper than other vendors, I have to ask why? What are they doing different?
Is it that, like BatchPcb they just take a while to ship? Is there a higher percentage of rejects? How are they so much cheaper at small quantities? Enquiring minds want to know.
lyndon:
What is the board quality like? … How are they so much cheaper at small quantities? Enquiring minds want to know.
Quality is fine -comparable with Gold Phoenix. As you would expect for that price, many designs are combined onto a panel, as per BatchPCB. According to posts I've seen on Seeed's forums, they don't really make money on small quantities - it's done as a service to hobbyists mainly.
lyndon:
What is the board quality like? I’m the suspicious type who tends to believe that you get what you pay for and if the boards are noticeably cheaper than other vendors, I have to ask why? What are they doing different?
Is it that, like BatchPcb they just take a while to ship? Is there a higher percentage of rejects? How are they so much cheaper at small quantities? Enquiring minds want to know.
are located in Shenzhen China where we can take advantage of the most integrated electronic supply chain in the world. Besides, the labour is not as expensive as other countries.
We will ship your boards after they are finished. For more detailed information about our pcb service, please feel free to drop an email to pcb@iteadstudio.com.
My dad had something similar he recently did. He had a wire in the yard he’d knicked with a shovel, just cut the outer jacket not the copper kill-you-bits. He found this stuff at Lowes or home depot, kinda like a latex rubber that he poured into a mold (made of a toilet paper roll) to reseal the wire. It hardened up pretty nicely while still being somewhat flexible. With your CNC machine you could probably make a nice little mold and do the same for your project.