Model Railway Forum

Hi, is there a certain type/make of double-sided sticky tape/foam you should use for fitting printed circuit boards down rather than trying to fix with screws & similar. Wasnt sure if some tapes could affect a board with the sticky bits. Thanks

Hi
I've used Sellotape Sticky Fixer pads which are double sided foam pads for years to hold small PCBs in place without any issues.
One thing to be aware of is the need to have the baseboards surface painted or varnished in the area where the pads are to stick, as over time the baseboards timber seems to 'suck the glue' away from the pad resulting in a loose fitting!

Thanks, Brian. Wasnt sure.

If you want the board to be permanently fixed in position try car numberplate sticky pads. These are strong! Maybe overkill for a PCB.

I second that MG,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Iv used that car numberplate thick double-sided tape as well for things like that, and swear by it for loads of things. I even stuck the baseboards down to the base unit cupboards, and it holds it solid as rock. Wonderful stuff. Saved a lot of screwing.......John

Another alternative is to use self adhesive hook and loop tape, VELCRO,this allows you to easily remove the PCB if you need to repair or alter. As Brian has said make sure if attaching to a wood surface seal with varnish or paint first to ensure good adhesion. A cheap source of suitable DS tape can be obtained from suppliers to the uPVC window trade as the foam centred stuff is extensively used for attaching trims, often several different thicknesses are available. Normal DS tape is no good as it needs two perfectly flat surfaces to work.

Richard

Thanks guys, the number plate is a good permanent fix. But i have had to change a few plates in my time & could of towed a car with these pads. Like the velcro idea, but the glue is not always that great on this stuff. But will look at a sticky number plate pad on the back of velcro.

I once tried to remove a numberplate on a trailer that aas fixed by these pads a few years before, and it was easier to just stick the new numberplate on top of the old one. It lasted quite a few years like that.

Number plate pads are serious strong!
Use a group of sticky Fixers (or similar) for a more easier to remove option where smaller PCBs are involved e.g CDU etc

It's really nice to know some things in this world work so well that you curse that they did work so well.
I have often put 6 pads on a number plate & really wished i had just put 3 or 4 when i have had to change them at a later date. lol