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Seek PCB thinner than 1.6mm

J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
Cut up a segment from an old UDMA hard drive cable. Bare the
top side of one conductor, and the bottom side of a
neighboring conductor. Jam it in there.


I more or less started by experimenting with that approach but I
found the two sides got forced apart all too quickly.

Just to be clear, can I explain exactly what I am trying to
achieve. It's a bit detailed! :)

Let's suppose I have a product (such as an MP3 player) and I
want to see what the current consumption is in various states
such as play, record, low volume, high volume, etc. I want to
be able to attach my multimeter leads to a pair of leads about 6
to 10 sinches long which go to my "insertion device". This
"device" is what I am posting about. It needs to be thin and to
have a conductor on each side; it also has to be strong because
sometimes there is precious little movement available to push
the cell or cells back.

I have found if the "insertion device" is not strongly made then
it will start to split. My preference is for a thin PCB or
flexible cable which is already made with conductor on each
side. Having to use adhesives can add problems especially if
there is any extruded adhesive from the two parts being squeezed
together while it is setting. I had initially used some thin
tin-coated steel strips from a food can and glued those onto
each side of a thin plastic base. Good adhesion has not been
easy to achieve.

Of course I could use da fanned out pair of wires with an
insulating sheet in between but that is fiddly and slow and
never quite so easy because the way some battery compartments
are designed seems particularly perverse. Sometimes the cells
spring out because the supports are not in line with the cell's
axis, at other times the shoulder of the cell prevents the small
cap easily reaching the connector, etc I'm sure you know what I
mean.

The purpose of building this is to be able to quickly and easily
take a current reading.
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
AA batteries have to have a bit of space for a spring to adapt
to, so the question isn't how thin the board should be, but
how easy it is to insert it between ends of batteries. 1.6mm
is a bit thick but you already found 0.8 and 0.4. 0.4 is
probably ideal. Double sided can be had from RS Components, as
a single small board. (Might need to find an account holder if
you haven't got one). Sharpen an edge so it slides easily. If
you try for anything finer you'll need more than you think, it
will need renewing too often.

RS order code: 292-6948 £4.27 plus VAT. (Free delivery if
spending over £30 before VAT). It's photosensitised, but just
get it. Splitting hairs and agonising over alternative sources
is NOT worth the difference between parts of £4 or so. This
way you guarantee the surface is in awesome condition too. To
get rid of the cladding, peel the plastic film off, expose
both sides to sunlight for a few minutes each side, then wash
off with a kitchen sponge and dilute caustic soda solution.
Ideally, cut strips off it before peeling, so you have a good
store. Keep it dry and cold, in case you ever want to use it
as the maker intended.


Oh now that looks close!

I use Farnell because I don't need an account and nowadays they
don't charge any extra (delivery or handling or small orders) if
ordered on the Net. Archimedes' Lever had posted this link to a
datasheet from Farnell and now I can see the same products there
that you mentioned.

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/86193.pdf

This led me to this selection table at Farnell:
<http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp;?N=0&Ntk=gensearch_001
&Ntt=fr4+cif&Ntx=&suggestions=false&_requestid=534697>

I'm hoping "4/10" means 0.4mm thick so this one may be right:

<http://uk.farnell.com/cif/aac16/board-fr4-1-side-4-10-35µ-
100x160mm/dp/1643087>

I hope it's a good choice because I haven't used this stuff before
and I see a lot of alternatives illustrated in that PDF datasheet.
 
W

whit3rd

Jan 1, 1970
0
The purpose of building this is to be able to quickly and easily
take a current reading.

A square inch of brass shim stock, maybe .005" thick,
cut into two panels, with a bit of tape to insulate the
two , does it fine. It's quick, it's easy, and the first
one I made is still around... somewhere.
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
Let's suppose I have a product (such as an MP3 player) and I
want to see what the current consumption is in various states
such as play, record, low volume, high volume, etc.


Yes, we know. You want to sample current from between the two
batteries. This isn't rocket science. Let's get back to getting the
right media for the job, we already know the goal.
 
I more or less started by experimenting with that approach but I
found the two sides got forced apart all too quickly.

Just to be clear, can I explain exactly what I am trying to
achieve.  It's a bit detailed!  :)

Let's suppose I have a product (such as an MP3 player) and I
want to see what the current consumption is in various states
such as play, record, low volume, high volume, etc.  I want to
be able to attach my multimeter leads to a pair of leads about 6
to 10 sinches long which go to my "insertion device". This
"device" is what I am posting about. It needs to be thin and to
have a conductor on each side; it also has to be strong because
sometimes there is precious little movement available to push
the cell or cells back.

I have found if the "insertion device" is not strongly made then
it will start to split.  My preference is for a thin PCB or
flexible cable which is already made with conductor on each
side. Having to use adhesives can add problems especially if
there is any extruded adhesive from the two parts being squeezed
together while it is setting.  I had initially used some thin
tin-coated steel strips from a food can and glued those onto
each side of a thin plastic base. Good adhesion has not been
easy to achieve.

Of course I could use da fanned out pair of wires with an
insulating sheet in between but that is fiddly and slow and
never quite so easy because the way some battery compartments
are designed seems particularly perverse.  Sometimes the cells
spring out because the supports are not in line with the cell's
axis, at other times the shoulder of the cell prevents the small
cap easily reaching the connector, etc I'm sure you know what I
mean.

The purpose of building this is to be able to quickly and easily
take a current reading

Why not make a dummy battery out of a piece of dowel rod and screws in
each end. Use a power supply and measure your current.
al
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
I had an early model Commodore scientific calculator that had an LED
display. They consumed quite a bit of power when the display and
memories were filled with "8" characters, compared to when only the "1"
character was in place. I actually had battery wires, which I could
break out and monitor current through. It pulled nearly 800mA with the
mantissa and memories filled with "8s". Only about 100 mA with "1s".
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
Of course I could use da fanned out pair of wires with an
insulating sheet in between but that is fiddly and slow


No, it isn't. Not if you lock them in place with the Kapton tape,
like was said. Oh, and making a 90 degree turn down along the length of
the battery isn't a problem either, so it is still the best way to proto
it.
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
The purpose of building this is to be able to quickly and easily
take a current reading.


All the battery box caps that devices have are tightly mated and would
have to remain off the item for the test, unless grooves were carved into
their edge.
 
S

Sjouke Burry

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
Aren't most circuit boards in TVs, printers and that sort of thing
about 1.6mm thick?
Not the flexible printed connector strips.
 
J

Jasen Betts

Jan 1, 1970
0
Oh now that looks close!

I use Farnell because I don't need an account and nowadays they
don't charge any extra (delivery or handling or small orders) if
ordered on the Net. Archimedes' Lever had posted this link to a
datasheet from Farnell and now I can see the same products there
that you mentioned.

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/86193.pdf

This led me to this selection table at Farnell:
<http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp;?N=0&Ntk=gensearch_001
&Ntt=fr4+cif&Ntx=&suggestions=false&_requestid=534697>

I'm hoping "4/10" means 0.4mm thick so this one may be right:

It looks like it, the data sheet and the makers website are unclear on
it but they list 16/10 8/10 4/10 and 2/10 (special order)
which does correlate well to standard PCB thicknesses, 1.6 0.8 etc...

This 10th thing must be a french thing, to me fractional sizes hint
that the unit is inches, but the frech have been using metric
measurement for longer and so I find 16/10 being 1.6mm plausible.

http://www.cif.fr/new/produits_aff.php3?cat=1&scat=3&sscat=89&p=204

the 35u appears to be the copper thickness.
I hink you mean:
http://uk.farnell.com/cif/aac16/board-fr4-1-side-4-10-35µ-100x160mm/dp/1643087
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
the 35u appears to be the copper thickness.

Which ain't much for measuring current, which is why my bare FR4
suggestion with Kapton attached conductors would likely yield better
results.
 
 All the battery box caps that devices have are tightly mated and would
have to remain off the item for the test, unless grooves were carved into
their edge.

IS THAT THE GROOVES OF YOUR BUTTOCKS YOU WANT CRAVED OUT
ONLY IF YOU ARE RECHARGING THE BIOSYSTEM YOU FOOL OTHERWISE A CLOSED
CAP TEST IS SUFFICIENT
YOU ANUS

TWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! THAT YOU EVEN BELIEVE YOU ARE FIT TO RESPOND
TO THE GROUP IS ASSTONISHING TROLL LET ALONE LEAD IT'S MEMBERSHIP

THANK YOUR GOD FOR FAIRY TALES WHERE YOU ARE AS ONE OF LITTLE REAL
CONSECUENCE IN LIFE

I AM PROTEUS
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
IS THAT THE GROOVES OF YOUR BUTTOCKS YOU WANT CRAVED OUT
ONLY IF YOU ARE RECHARGING THE BIOSYSTEM YOU FOOL OTHERWISE A CLOSED
CAP TEST IS SUFFICIENT
YOU ANUS

TWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! THAT YOU EVEN BELIEVE YOU ARE FIT TO RESPOND
TO THE GROUP IS ASSTONISHING TROLL LET ALONE LEAD IT'S MEMBERSHIP

THANK YOUR GOD FOR FAIRY TALES WHERE YOU ARE AS ONE OF LITTLE REAL
CONSECUENCE IN LIFE

I AM PROTEUS


Have a couple more drinks, dumbass. We'll be rid of you soon enough.
Maybe you'll step out in front of traffic like the guy in the movie
"Taken".

Tell us, Mr. Closed Cap Test. Where do the wires for the current
reading getinza and getoutza at?
 
A

Alun

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
I want to create a probe to out in between two AA or AAAA cells to
detrmine the current flowing.
The probe could be made up of double-sided circuit board with a
wire coming from the contact area on each side.
All I see in the catalogues is 1.6mm thick PCD. Where can I get a
bit of thinner board?

I've a piece of flexible double-sided that I could post to you
if you're in England.

(It's what I use for a similar purpose (with a shorting switch) when
I've a bit of electronic eqpt that only has a single push-button for
both OFF and also ON and which therefore otherwise slowly
(OK, very slowly, but a problem if not used for months on end)
drains the battery during its eternal monitoring.)
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
No, it isn't. Not if you lock them in place with the Kapton
tape, like was said. Oh, and making a 90 degree turn down
along the length of the battery isn't a problem either, so it
is still the best way to proto it.

I looked up Kapton tape as I haven't used it. Seems Kapton is a
type of plastic by DuPont and presumably Kapton tape is a third
party's self adhesive tape made using a backing of Kapton plastic.

This suggests that the adhesive used in Kapton tape will vary from
manufacturer to manufacturer. Which brand of tape gives you such
good results?
 
A

Alun

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
That sounds like a good deal! Where do I send my email?

You've got that wrong.

It is _I_ who will post to you when I have _YOUR_ address
 
A

Archimedes' Lever

Jan 1, 1970
0
Heh! Yes, I'm with you, honestly.

How do I get my address to you? I was thinking of email.

Get your web page set up. You know, the "web space" that your ISP
usually provides. then you can accept 'pay pal' hooks, I think.
 
  Get your web page set up. You know, the "web space" that your ISP
usually provides.  then you can accept 'pay pal' hooks, I think.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What are you now the group business consultant ?

THE REAL GROUP THINKS YOU'VE MURDERED ROY Q.T. TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT
FOR THESE THINGS YOURSELF.

I THINK HE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF A FROZEN LAKE SOMEWHERE IN ALASKA WHERE
HE HAD REPORTED HE WAS GOING - FUNNY HOW HE HAS NOT LOGGED ONTO HIS
PRCIOUS MSN SINCE HE WENT ICE FISHING THERE TO . . .


I AM WATCHING YOU !

DO YOU WANT THE VIDEO FEED ?

I AM PROTEUS
 
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