Isolator material between two PCB's

[fuseshut]

Hi Everyone. had a question. I have two pCbs mounted very closely to one another. I want to prevent from one board touching the other due to vibration, etc. Anyone know of any isolating material. I know I could conformal coat both boards, that might help. Maybe I could use a piece of neoprene or rubber as a separator. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[geekEE]

How close is very close? How about using standoffs between the boards?

 

[itsmoked]

I always wonder why the design didn't start with the mechanical problems? They are always a nightmare of junky kludges when left at the end - instead of properly leading the charge.

Why are there no correctly located holes ready for nice plastic spacers or standoffs?

Anyhow, It all depends on your energy dissipation requirements. Could be nothing will work in your case if you have a hot regulator or something.

If their is any thermal considerations the look at Sil-Pad

http://www.bergquistcompany.com/tm_sil_pad_detail.cfm?oid=104254&tab=spec&prod_type=silpad

Otherwise neoprene maybe?

Go to McMaster-Carr.

http://www.mcmaster.com

Look in the directory under RAW MATERIALS

Find RUBBER

Click that and you will see a huge number of things that could be pressed into service.


Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Comcokid]

Stick-on bumper feet work well. I've used these for larger boards I didn't want vibrating in the middle.

 

[MikeHalloran]

If the design didn't include two boards pressed together with an insulator between them at the start, this is a bad time to start thinking about it.

Yes, the Sil-Pad will conduct heat from one board to the other; so what? Neither board will be conducting to a cool plane, and neither board will be interacting with air, as they are normally assumed to do.

I.e., linking two boards thermally will cool neither, and cause both to overheat. Proceed, and expect reliability problems aplenty.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[fuseshut]

Thanks for the replies. To start it's in existing design that I have inherited for some reason. I'm just looking for a fix in the field. If the design was preliminary (of course) standoffs would have been the obvious solution. Oh well. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[BrianG]

How close are the boards to each other? If yoy just want to stop component pins or solder joints from touching, how about using a piece of plain grp laminate - like the boards are made from - in a "sandwich" between the boards?

 

[sreid]

How about a thin piece of fiberglass-epoxy board (1/32 inch FR4).

 

[fuseshut]

good idea! Sreid and Brian. I can physically attach it to one board as a fixed spacer. Thanks