DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Express => Topic started by: IndianaChristmas on March 03, 2012,
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I have started soldering my kits received from the first coop.
I am trying to solder the green connectors to the board for the outputs. The holes on two of these boards aren't big enough to allow the connectors through them. I have tried using the smallest unit of connect (3) since I figured it was an issue trying to push all 16 through and still no luck. The other two boards accept the connectors fine. My question is can I Dremel the holes bigger or the connectors smaller and not destroy the board or connectors? Thanks.
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There was a previous discussion about this. Please read the thread below
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=8120.15
Steve
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Seems some of the pcbs have a little excessive solder in the holes than ever before. not sure why but since I keep the holes tight before to add in assembly it is making it hard on some of then to get them in. Since the current traces are all on the bottom you can clean the hole out a little but try to not take the plating off the hole completely or the snubber resistor will lose connection and become not effective. You might not even know unless you have leds that really need the snubbers.
Its funny that this would be on these pcbs after having thousands made with out issues. I am going to call them Monday and ask if they can explain it. And do I need to be concerned with it being this way in the furture? If so I will have to redo the pcbs with a larger hole to compansate.
RJ
RJ
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I have started soldering my kits received from the first coop.
I am trying to solder the green connectors to the board for the outputs. The holes on two of these boards aren't big enough to allow the connectors through them. I have tried using the smallest unit of connect (3) since I figured it was an issue trying to push all 16 through and still no luck. The other two boards accept the connectors fine. My question is can I Dremel the holes bigger or the connectors smaller and not destroy the board or connectors? Thanks.
I would be carefull with a Dremel. They spin fast and can cause a lot of damage real quick. A drill bit that fits tightly in the hole would probably work better at cleaning the hole without trashing the traces.
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I compared the holes on these pcbs to an extra express pcb I had from last year that I did not get around to building. I ended up using a #59 (0.041 dia) drill bit and turned it by hand to open the hole. In my set of drill bits a #58 would not fit in the holes from the older express pcb.
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This is one of those cases where more power is not better, just some TLC with a drill bit should work. Take the pieces apart and install them one-by-one.
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I have my 2nd of 3 coop kits completed. My first board had no problems at all with the wire connectors. My second and third both have the problem. I just want to share what I found. When I made the holes big enough for the connectors to go in, it destroyed the trace through the hole. I used a multimeter and the third pcb to figure out where the connections should go and had to make the connections with wire on the back of the board. For those of you that have this problem, you should check to make sure that there is conductivity between the negative (neutral) wire connector for each channel and the right side of the 47k resistors.
Hope this helps.
John
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I just built 6 and had one that was stiff. The other five had perfect alignment. I used a 1/16 bit and just worked a little on each hole as necessary. I didn't go all the way though. 1/16 was to large however and really needed something smaller. The key is by hand. Anytime you grab a drill for this task your asking for trouble, don't do it.
The key is taking the parts apart and working with them as three or four pins however them come apart. I even had to trim the edge of some where they slide together with a utility knife. Once they are soldered together you can't tell the difference.
The pics also needed flashing but that was a snap having the PicKit ready and running.
Take you time and happy building.
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I am saying check the conductivity. I did all of it by hand, and did not go all the way through either, but still did not have the connection when I checked.
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Did you spin the trace off?
I checked mine and they are all good. I only had I think one hole that I went all the way though but the trace around the hole was still plenty good.
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No, I didn't damage the pad around the hole, but only 1 of my neutral connections was there after soldering the wire blocks in. I fixed my board. I just wanted to let other know that they should check just in case.
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The problem is not damaging the pad, it's removing the plating on the edges of the hole. On a double sided board with plated-through holes, the edge of the hole is plated, forming a connection between the pad on the top and the pad on the bottom. If you damage this plating, the connection will be broken.
/mike
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That is correct.
With that being the case, I would think you could either loose the resistor connectivity or power from the triac. I guess I need to test each channel on the board I had issues with to make sure they have connectivity to the resistor and voltage when turned on.
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maybe if you sandpaper the leads a bit that might help you squeeze it in.
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How many are having this issue? I pulled some of the pcbs from this order and the connectors fit in the ones I could find. A few were tighter than I remember ever seeing but this sounds like some might be even tighter. I can send you a pcb if you have not already got parts in the pcb but I imagine you do.
You will not prevent it from working even if you drill the plating out of the holes you will just loose the function of the snubber resistor since it is the only top side connection.
RJ
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I checked the last 5 I have and 4 are to tight to fit. One slipped right in. The ones that are tight don't look like they are nothing I can't fix.
I think I need a 1.5 mm drill bit as the post size is 1.3 mm.
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of the two in this coop, one was tight, the other was perfect.
Separating the blocks helped, as did a touch of sand paper on the leads helped ease them in.
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Both boards I just received are very tight. looks like some sanding might do the trick.
-Paul
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So far the first 3 boards ( 3 left to do) have had very tight terminal holes. I have started "gently" beating smaller sections into place with a rubber handled screwdriver instead of placing the whole line in at once. It is a little disconcerting watching me beat on an LE, but everything still seemed to work when I go done soldering.
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I am sure I can get some replacement pcbs in a few weeks for anyone that has not put their parts on and finds this to be the case hold up and pm me let me know I need to know how many we are talking about that need replacement before I can do anything. There were no change to the pcb so while they are research the issue it will come down to a mislocated bit in the drilling machine autoloader carosel I would imagine.
RJ
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Just checked out the 10 I received.
2 are tight, not going to be a problem.
8 drop right in.
The 2 that are tight, look like the plating is thicker, all holes a little smaller, and 1 via is full.
Have fun
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RJ - What should the finished hole diameter be for these 32 holes?
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Mine were tight but after some coaxing they went in begrudgingly.
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?c3n54h
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The 2 boards I have issues with I can get the connectors in partially. There are holes that are just too narrow; not all holes mind you. It seems to be about 1/2 of them. The bad ones I can't even pass a #59 drill bit through without forcing. I don't think it is a lot of extra solder mind you; just enough to make a challenge. Eventually have been able to slowly wear away the solder enough to get the connectors on one of the boards. Still working with the second one! Can't send back as I put the parts on already!
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Mine were tight but after some coaxing they went in begrudgingly.
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?c3n54h
Same here.
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Mine were tight but after some coaxing they went in begrudgingly.
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?c3n54h
Same here.
I help someone yesterday building there first LE and saw the problem. Seems the PCB house might have over plated the board and also the tolerance of the holes size might be a little to close and not allow any excessive over plating which can happen sometimes.
It is tight, maybe RJ can specify a slightly larger drill hole size for the connector strips.
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Hmmm, not going to make any tight jokes, but that's the way I like it!!!! <fp.
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The tolerance for the holes was done this way on purpose to prevent the terminal strips from falling out when users were soldering them in. I have been here for years and this is the first time I have ever seen this happen. I wouldn't be to quick to suggest making changes to the board.
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The tolerance for the holes was done this way on purpose to prevent the terminal strips from falling out when users were soldering them in. I have been here for years and this is the first time I have ever seen this happen. I wouldn't be to quick to suggest making changes to the board.
I agree,
the only thing that needs to change is quality control on the end of the board makers.
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1 of the 2 I received in the coop were this way. I managed to get it together by separating them and putting them one at a time after slightly reaming the holes that were tight. Everything tested OK when I finished.
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So as to be real clear on this the problem is with the holes the 16 LED's in the middle of the board go through.
Mike
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The problem is with the terminal strip that goes all the way down one side.
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I too had the issue, I used a file on the stem and worked them in pieces. Snapping them back together as they begun to fit. It works but is really time consuming, and in the end pcb untouched and a working board.
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2 of the 4 boards I have were too tight. Had to drill them out a little.
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sorry for the issue it is a plating issue but do not have an answer on what happened just that they would replace any that were unusable. Seems the majoritity of users have been able to sand down the post a small bit nd get them to fit. Any that could not I have replaced with the spare pcbs I ordered for the store and have an order in to replace them.
Once my heatsink order and pcb replacement get here I can restock the store with some pcbs.
RJ
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i have a board from the 2md coop that has this problem, should i attempt assembly, or do you reccomend replacing the board before i get started?
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If it is just a matter of polishing then pins then do it, if it is more than that then it needs replaced but it may need to wait until new pcbs arrive.
RJ
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I drilled the holes with a #58 drill bit (0.042 DIA) and the terminal strip went in easier. After drilling, I verified there was still continuity on the component side from the neutral connection of the input power connection to the neutral connection of each channel. Don't forget channels 1-8 get the neutral from the left side and channels 9-16 get neutral from the right.
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Here's a bit more info that might help diagnose this in some way. I measured the pin diameter of a hundred or so random sampled terminal pins and my typical pin diameter measurement was about 1.06 mm. A few of the pins were as thick as 1.10 mm and many were in the 1.07 to 1.09 range. My solution was to chase the holes with a 1.1 mm carbide micro drill using a jewelers drill press. Since I've been building some of prototype PCBs, I have most drill sizes up to 6.5 mm in 0.05 mm steps. I found 1.05 was still too tight for some of the terminal pins. While chasing the holes, I watch the drill shaving and for the most part, I only see the plating material. After chasing, I also check the continuity and resistance to make sure I have a good front to back connection. I haven't had any problems with using this process so far. Here's a summary of my experiences.
Last Year
I built 32 LEs last year for my display. I don't remember having any issues with the terminal pins fitting last year. However, they were snug and required a bit of force from time to time.
First Coop This Year
I bought 6 LEs in the first Coop this year. Two of the six required chasing.
My neighbor across the street bought 2 LEs for his display and I needed to chase both of his boards.
10 PCBs & Heat Sinks
I purchased 10 heat sinks and PCB between the first and second Coop this year. One of ten of those boards required chasing. Several of the others were extremely tight.
Second Coop This Year
I bought 6 LEs in the second Coop this year. Five of the six PCBs from the second Coop required chasing.
As a note, at this point, I have sufficient LEs for my display this year. However, I have several friends that may purchase LEs for their displays and I will probably help them build their boards. So I try to keep track of this if needed.
Hope this information helps and again, thanks for all of your time and effort.
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My concern with the tight fit is will the solder be able to wick pass the pin and provide a good connection on the opposite side of the board. Difficult to inspect after soldering.
Roy
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Solder is what is filling the hole when you heat it it will flow and do its job. It's just getting the ipns in the holes that is the issue.
RJ
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Since the problem appears to be to much solder plating on the board causing the tight fit, yoiu should no issues with that. The solder being applied by you will reflow the existing solder causing the tight fit and you should be good to go.