Gluey stuff for Molex KK connectors

[ruffrecords]

I have a motherboard onto which I need to solder about fifty 2 way and 3 way Molex 0.1 inch pitch headers. It is a pain to do them one at a time so I was wondering if there is some kind of tacky fluid I could use just to hold them in place when I turn the board over to solder them. Any ideas?

Cheers

Ian

 

[Newmarket]

Maybe do a few at a time and use a piece of board to hold in place while you tack a pin on each to hold in place. Then check alignment before soldering the other pins and properly soldering the initial 'tacked,' connection.
Are you using the Friction Lock type headers ?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I would first tack solder one pin to hold the header in the PCB.

With a finger to hold the header straight reheat that one tack solder joint. (edit don't put your finger on the pin you are reheating).

After the headers are tack soldered in and straight, solder at will....

JR

 

[ruffrecords]

I would first tack solder one pin to hold the header in the PCB.

With a finger to hold the header straight reheat that one tack solder joint. (edit don't put your finger on the pin you are reheating).

After the headers are tack soldered in and straight, solder at will....

JR

This is what I do right now but the board is 16 inches long and five inches wide. It is extremely awkward to hold a 2 pin Molex on one side and solder on the other (and the arthritis in my hands does not help either) which is why I am looking for something better. Today I got some stencil adhesive which does not fully set. I fitted over 40 Molex connectors into the board each held in place with a small dab of glue. Half an hour later the glue was well tacky so I turned the board over and soldered the lot in one go. Much better. The glue never hardens so now all I have to do is wipe it off.

Cheers

Ian

 

[JohnRoberts]

The plan for making 1x is different than production... do what works for you...

JR

 

[warpie]

Are your headers usually close to the edge of the PCB? If so, try attaching a small crocodile clip to hold both the PCB and the header tight together. Then you can freely (but gently) rotate the board. Of course, you can use more than one crocodile clips and solder many headers at once.

At least this works for me.

PS. I have covered the crocodile teeth with heat shrink.

 

[scott2000]

Maybe little pieces of poster tack on a side of the headers to pcb?... Then just remove it? Would take a little wiggle room though probably....

 

[Doc Morgan]

I use a few small dots of epoxy on parts of the connector that contacts the pcb.

 

[iampoor1]

I've used cheap super glue for this. The cheaper the better...this is one time where too much adhesion doesn't help

 

[JohnRoberts]

I'd worry about liquid glue spreading into holes and compromising solder wicking. For production we can use fixtures to hold the headers in place with board upside down for soldering.

For onsey twosey DIY, do what works for you.

JR

 

[Newmarket]

I'd worry about liquid glue spreading into holes and compromising solder wicking. For production we can use fixtures to hold the headers in place with board upside down for soldering.

For onsey twosey DIY, do what works for you.

JR

Yeah but you need just the tiniest of amount on the edge of the nylon base so well away from the PCB holes.
Though personally I usually tack a pin manually using a bit of wood etc to hold it in place. To avoid burn risk to finger !

 

[JohnRoberts]

Yeah but you need just the tiniest of amount on the edge of the nylon base so well away from the PCB holes.
Though personally I usually tack a pin manually using a bit of wood etc to hold it in place. To avoid burn risk to finger !

I usually use a glob of solder on the iron tip to tack solder the header to the PCB. Then with my finger on a cool pin(s) I reheat the tacked joint to straighten up the header. Later after I solder all the cool pins I reflow the first tack soldered pin with fresh solder.

JR

 

[Errit]

There is an other solution. When I assemble my pcb's, I use an Ideal Tek Circuit board holder. It's a good solution when you assemble often pcb's or in small series. You start with the smallest components, like the resistors. Then the capacitors, transistors and the ic's. After that you place the bigger components.
https://www.ideal-tek.com/scheda.php?m=search&f=5&c=Circuit Board Holders&l=3&idp=3341

 

[Errit]

After that you place the lid and turn it upside down. Now you can solder the components.

 

[JohnRoberts]

We used those in production at LOFT/Phoenix audio Lab back in the 80s.

JR

 

[Newmarket]

I usually use a glob of solder on the iron tip to tack solder the header to the PCB. Then with my finger on a cool pin(s) I reheat the tacked joint to straighten up the header. Later after I solder all the cool pins I reflow the first tack soldered pin with fresh solder.

Carrying solder on the iron tip ! I certainly deny ever doing that
Yeah - basically that. My usual 'goto' are 3 way 2.54mm KK with friction lock.
So I can use the nylon friction lock part to hold in. But with the small number of pins I found it quite easy to accidentally touch the hot pin so tend to use whatever is at hand for protection. But yeah - get it nice and straight / true to the pcb then all is good to solder up properly.
On this , in a previous position where I was redesigning pcbs with existing footprint models, I noticed that the pcb holes didn't line up quite right. Typically one of the holes might be a fraction of a mm out of alignment. Initially I took this as a error and corrected.
With hindsight, the retiring engineer who I believe had originated those user defined footprints may have done so deliberately to give an 'interference fit' to hold the connectors in place initially. It does make desoldering not quite as easy. But with a two or three way headers it relatively easy to lay the iron tip across them all to allow the header to be removed.

 

[Newmarket]

After that you place the lid and turn it upside down. Now you can solder the components.

Same here back in 90s small scale prototype and manufacture.
'RS' brand IIRC. I have to say I was never that convinced about the 'sponge' to hold components in place.
It always seemed a bit of a 'reveal' when the soldered board was removed as to how good the results would be.
But that may be down to the individual manufacturer and/or the skill of the operator. They were generally not very experienced to start with.

 

[ruffrecords]

After that you place the lid and turn it upside down. Now you can solder the components.

Yes, I looked at these a few years back but at around £250 I decided it was not cost effective for the small quantities involved. However, now my arthritis is worsening the balance may have changed.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Newmarket]

Yes, I looked at these a few years back but at around £250 I decided it was not cost effective for the small quantities involved. However, now my arthritis is worsening the balance may have changed.

Cheers

Ian

How many PCBs / connectors are you fitting in one batch. Those frames are a bit of a faff ime. YMMV.

 

[ruffrecords]

How many PCBs / connectors are you fitting in one batch. Those frames are a bit of a faff ime. YMMV.

Depeneding on the motherboard somewhere between 30 and 60.

Cheers

Ian