How to secure/fix fragile wires to veroboard?

[HankMcSpank]

Where you have a situation where a lot of single wires are attached to the edge of veroboard/stripboard...or even a PCB...what's the best method to stop them moving & eventually snapping off.

I think I've seen some manafacturer's use what looks like a blob of clear/tramnslucent resin where the cable meets the board (to reinforce it)....would I be right in thinking that this is just cold "hot glue"?

 

[SY]

That's exactly what it is. Works for securing heavy components, too.

 

[HankMcSpank]

Ok, thanks - next question

Which is the best model to get (gas, electric, cordless)...I realise they've all got pros & cons, but if anybody has any experience I'd be grateful to hear!

Also any makes I should stick with? (no pun intended!!)

 

[Magura]

Just about anything goes. The easy solution is an electrical gun, which is BTW also a cheap solution.
As for the hot melt glue, I've used loads of it, and I'm still to encounter something that didn't work as expected. So, grab the cheapest you can find, and spend the money you saved on a flower for the Mrs.


Magura

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

I've also seen people use cyanoacrylate and an accelerator- used to be sold as "Tac-Pac" or something like that. The accelerator was a small aerosol that gave almost instantaneous hardening. This was popular for holding small gage wire wrap wire in place.

 

[dangus]

RTV (aka Silastic, silicone sealant) is good if you can wait for it to dry (although you don't have to wait for it to warm up). And can keep the tube from solidifying between uses. The trick is to squirt a generous amount into the cap and over the nozzle before screwing it on. That seems to stop the sealant from hardening back into the tube.

It's better to use a connector and plug the wire harness onto the board. The problem is the cost of the crimp tools; trying to squeeze the terminals with pliers, or soldering, usually doesn't work at all well.

 

[c2cthomas]

I've also seen people use cyanoacrylate and an accelerator- used to be sold as "Tac-Pac" or something like that. The accelerator was a small aerosol that gave almost instantaneous hardening. This was popular for holding small gage wire wrap wire in place.

"Super-Glue" (cyanoacrylate) does work well - especially for very small wires used in "wire wrap" applications and small fixes to things - BUT (yeah - the "but" word) - when exposed to high temperatures such as from a soldering iron the fumes turn into a form of cyanide gas. It usually isn't enough gas to cause any real harm (like death) but it can burn the heck out of your eyes and nostrils! I've used a bunch of the stuff and have left pieces of my finger tips on enough circuit boards to know!

OH Yeah - some of the RTV's stink (smell bad). I like the hot glue best.

 

[dnsey]

An alternative method of securing the wires (particularly useful if you might want to make changes in the future) is to leave a few spare holes at the edge, and thread the wires in and out of these.

 

[DcibeL]

I've also seen people use cyanoacrylate and an accelerator- used to be sold as "Tac-Pac" or something like that. The accelerator was a small aerosol that gave almost instantaneous hardening. This was popular for holding small gage wire wrap wire in place.

Loctite 444 tak pak. Great stuff.

 

[luvdunhill]

I've heard that some hot glue can be conductive. Is this true?

 

[Magura]

Never heard of it.

Easy to test though, measure resistance from end to through a rod of glue, if in doubt.

Magura