DIY plated hole options for double-sided boards?

[Jidis]

Does anyone here have much experience with any of the available rivets or those snap-off insert things people make for through holes? I'm not interested in anything real elaborate or full toolkits. Probably something more like the little copper rivets with the flange. Wondering which methods work/don't work and what the downsides might be.

Getting from side to side is one of the things I'm not really happy with on my boards, but I've managed some workarounds with via-like things attached to cap legs and stuff I can't solder from the top. It just feels sloppy having wires crossing between sides, plus I don't wish to screw up the cap's job by extending its virtual legs like that.

Thanks,

George

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Does anyone here have much experience with any of the available rivets or those snap-off insert things people make for through holes? I'm not interested in anything real elaborate or full toolkits. Probably something more like the little copper rivets with the flange. Wondering which methods work/don't work and what the downsides might be.

Getting from side to side is one of the things I'm not really happy with on my boards, but I've managed some workarounds with via-like things attached to cap legs and stuff I can't solder from the top. It just feels sloppy having wires crossing between sides, plus I don't wish to screw up the cap's job by extending its virtual legs like that.

Thanks,

George

I've done a number of non-PTH dual-sided boards in my time. Unless you're doing high-density digital stuff, most PCB's don't require many vias. You can always manage to go from side to side using the existing component holes.
It's all a matter of attention and patience. As a last resort, if I had to have vias, then I would turn them into test points.
These rivets are a PITA to install if you don't have the $64k tool, they take a lot of space too. At one time I used straight pins but their only value was being nice.

 

[Jidis]

Thanks Abbey Road!

[quote author=abbey road d enfer]Unless you're doing high-density digital stuff, most PCB's don't require many vias. You can always manage to go from side to side using the existing component holes.

It's all a matter of attention and patience. As a last resort, if I had to have vias, then I would turn them into test points.[/quote]

Yeah, I think I've done OK with this solution (see picture). The accessible bottom layer (blue) has a short trace tied to a hole which I can drop a wire through. I get the hole close enough to the top trace that I can tack the wire onto it to insure connection to the top layer. Like you say, there aren't many on these boards, and it's pretty much all caps that need it. I guess I just don't like knowing that they're there.

The rivets I was interested in are pictured too. They're not much money for 100 and web info I found seemed to say they could alternatively be dropped in with tweezers. I'm just wondering about how easy it is to get a trustworthy bond between that flange thing and the top pad (seems I also read a comment or two about it failing). They go down to a .6mm OD, but it doesn't specify the flange diameter. Again, it would be for stuff like caps, so the space they take up shouldn't be an issue.

I may follow your suggestion and talk myself out of it though.  :-\

George

 

[mattamatta]

I've used those rivets a few times before.  At a previous job of mine we used to use a CNC router to cut prototype boards, and one of the technicians I worked with liked to use those rivets.  They work fairly well.  What another technician in my group used to do was to snake 30 gauge wire in and out of all the via holes, solder both sides, and clip the wires off at the joints.  Then he'd take the whole board and lay it flat on some sandpaper to file the joints down fairly flat.  They ended up being pretty clean that way.  Had to remember to do the via-joint sanding before putting any components on, or that ruins the whole sand-the-high-points thing, of course.

 

[joaquins]

Maybe rivets could be putted with a drill press and a jig. They seems nice and if they work and not a hard time to put them confortable too. I'd solder both sides to the board before put the component, I think, just to be sure.

JS

 

[Jidis]

Thanks Mattamatta. Yeah, they may be something nice to have on hand just for once in a while. Also, I recently read about that weaving wire through all the vias thing somewhere else as well. Seems like flattening them by sanding or something afterward might run the risk of going down far enough to jeopardize the connection to the pads though wouldn't it?

Joaquins- I'm under the impression from stuff I read that those things just sort of drop into the hole. I'll read up on it more later, but maybe they do require squashing out that non-flared end on the bottom side. If so, I guess that also means that they're expecting a specific thickness of board as well, depending on what length they come in.

Take Care

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Again, it would be for stuff like caps, so the space they take up shouldn't be an issue.

I've always managed to route the caps from the bottom layer; if you use an autorouter, you may start routing the caps manually and start the autorouter from there. It's more efficient than running the autorouter from the start and edit later.

 

[joaquins]

Sure they should came in diferent sizes, but they should be very flexible because of softness of cupper. I don't belive they make a solid conection unless a heavy force tightening them... even then I don't belive you can put a ton over it without damage the board so I'd soldered it just to be safe, but then the connection will be nice and solid.

JS

 

[mattamatta]

Joaquins- I'm under the impression from stuff I read that those things just sort of drop into the hole. I'll read up on it more later, but maybe they do require squashing out that non-flared end on the bottom side. If so, I guess that also means that they're expecting a specific thickness of board as well, depending on what length they come in.

When I used them, they just dropped into the hole and were soldered in on both sides like you're thinking.  Could be called more of an eyelet than a rivet.
I dont think we had many problems with sanding them too short, but it seems like it's a possibility.  Don't go too agressive with sandpaper.  In my own home-etched boards I've just used small bits of wire, clipped it, and left it at that.

 

[ricothetroll]

I once tried those rivets but didn't have the right (expensive) tool. I had to resolder nearly all of the to get all the connexions right, so really no time saved compared to adding through hole pins.

 

[Jidis]

Rico,

Keep in mind there are a couple. Not sure about the ones you had, but I know those weird arrowhead shaped ones that come on a stick use some special pen-type tool to insert them. I was interested in the other (drop in) types.

George

PS- I actually burnt down my via/jumper things the other day in the drill press. I used a flat nosed grinding wheel and just brought it down far enough to shave a bit off each lump. Seemed to work.