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PSB - what holds LCD in place? — Parallax Forums

PSB - what holds LCD in place?

HarleyHarley Posts: 997
edited 2010-09-03 15:48 in Propeller 1
@ Rayman,

Looking at your PSB photos on your website, I got to wondering what's used to hold the 4.3" LCD in place, as it is a bit heavier than the 3.5" LCD. Maybe just double sided tape?

And how many free Prop pins are there on the PSB board? For some reason the schematics came out so small they are almost unreadable when printed. I couldn't find a way to zoom them up a bit. Viewed on a iMac.

Thanks in advance. No huge hurry; I'm aware you might be involved with weather preparedness at the moment.

Comments

  • wjsteelewjsteele Posts: 697
    edited 2010-09-01 14:37
    I use two sided foam tape. (There is nothing on the board itself to hold it.)

    If I remember, there are 6 pins free. Some of them are "dual use" pins, however, being also available for the mouse/keyboard/tv.

    Bill
  • HarleyHarley Posts: 997
    edited 2010-09-01 17:08
    Thanks for your input, wjsteele,

    I'm not familiar with double-sided 'foam' tape. I got some double-sided recently , but don't recall seeing any foam type. Of course, maybe that is more specialized than what a Wal-Mart carries.

    OK, The PTP board also had 6 I/Os free. I'd not compared the two. I like that PSB layout, with the board on the back/'solder' side. Couldn't do that on a DIP/through hole design; wouldn't be much area left for components. Advantage of SMD parts. I won't comment on disadvantage of them though.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-09-01 17:27
    Harley, here ya go: http://www.uline.com/BL_6015/3M-Double-Sided-Foam-Tape
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2010-09-01 18:06
    It's commonly used to hold things in place inside radio controlled airplanes. It's often called "servo tape" and comes in different widths. I have a roll sitting in front of me. I use it a lot.

    I think the 3M tape localroger mentioned is stronger (and more expensive).

    Harley, I saw some of the 3M tape yesterday at Kinko's where I had my Hydra book rebound. I had it split in two and spiral bound. The second half starts at Part III which is just about the middle of the book. I really like the new binding. Your right about it being a great book in really bad binding.

    If you get the 3M tape, you probably want the 1/16" stuff. The roll I saw yesterday was about $5. There are probably lots of other places (Wal-Mart, Office Max) where you could purchase it for less.

    Duane
  • ihmechihmech Posts: 179
    edited 2010-09-01 18:50
    Duane Degn wrote: »
    It's commonly used to hold things in place inside radio controlled airplanes. It's often called "servo tape" and comes in different widths. I have a roll sitting in front of me. I use it a lot.

    I think the 3M tape localroger mentioned is stronger (and more expensive).

    Harley, I saw some of the 3M tape yesterday at Kinko's where I had my Hydra book rebound. I had it split in two and spiral bound. The second half starts at Part III which is just about the middle of the book. I really like the new binding. Your right about it being a great book in really bad binding.

    If you get the 3M tape, you probably want the 1/16" stuff. The roll I saw yesterday was about $5. There are probably lots of other places (Wal-Mart, Office Max) where you could purchase it for less.

    Duane

    The 3M brand tape is the "good stuff" and its pretty mean, expecially if you prep. the surfaces with an alcohol type cleaner before application. I've bent metal panels and broke plastic panels trying to remove them when held with 3M tape. It goes a long way, so use it carefully if you ever plan to take it apart again.

    Some of the metal serial plates on Ag machinery is held on with that tape. They don't come off, as a matter of fact, it works better than tack rivets that are normally used!

    Keep your stick on the ice,

    Phil

    Oh, thanks for the idea on the Hydra book Duane, I have one on the way and was told to have it rebound since they have a bad habit of falling apart. But I hear the info on the pages is worth the trouble of having it rebound. I never thought about having it wire bound.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2010-09-01 20:00
    Phil, I really like the spiral binding. It's not metal; it's plastic spiral material.

    I was reading the Hydra book in bed a couple of night ago and I had to stop because the binding was so noisy as each time part of the binding would come away from the rest of the book it made a popping sound. I finally got up and read in another room so the noise wouldn't bother my wife. The new binding is nice and quiet and I think I prefer having the book in two parts. It makes holding it easier. It cost a total of $10 to have it rebound ($5 each half).

    A little more on topic: The servo tape I use isn't too hard to remove. I'm using it to temporarily hold my PTP and 3.5" screen to a plastic board so the ribbon cable isn't stressed as I work on it.

    Duane
  • HarleyHarley Posts: 997
    edited 2010-09-02 09:13
    Thanks everyone for your comments. The tape I found was Scotch (3M branded) 1/2" x 250 ", three rolls in a box for several bucks. This stuff is clear, no foam and very thin. So far it has worked decently well.

    My crappy 'case' is just to keep the PTP board and LCD fixed, rather than flopping around. The flexible pcb/cable seems quite durable; but have no idea how much abuse it can stand.

    The back, vertical cardboard is separate from the bottom piece. That is cardboard to cardboard joint and had come apart once. The cardboard is unusually fine ribbed and is better than standard cardboard box material. I now use a rubber band around the bottom case where the LCD touches; this to keep the case snug with the pcb. So with batteries I can carry it where ever it is convenient to use it. Just a temporary case for now. Functional.

    The tape from Uline sure is costly. But if it works well, it is worth it. I used two strips of tape on the LCD; hope it doesn't harm the LCD if/when I need to take it apart.
    MVC-073S.JPG
    640 x 480 - 28K
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2010-09-02 23:19
    Honestly, that's a pretty nice "case". You should make a template and post it as a PDF.

    As for the double sided foam tape, at work we use 3M VHB series Acrylic Foam tapes quite often for securing small displays in various products. While at Kaiser Hospital the other day, I watched someone mount a 15 foot wide vinyl banner up with VHB tape (only used eight 4" pieces)
    VHB tape can typically be found at craft/fabric stores like Michael's, JoAnns, Ben Franklin's, Beverly's Fabrics, etc. (you would actually be surprised at what types of "hard to find/expensive items" are sold off the shelf in fabric stores, so I enjoy tagging along with my wife) VHB tape has a red backing liner with white "VHB" lettering. I also think Home Depot carries it by their other tapes.

    Here is a guide on using VHB tapes.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,889
    edited 2010-09-03 08:15
    I use some kind of double-sided sticky foam...

    You have to keep the metal back of the LCD off the board, or it'll short the board out...
  • HarleyHarley Posts: 997
    edited 2010-09-03 15:48
    Andrew,

    Unfortunately at the moment I do not have a drawing application to provide a template. I could maybe do an "ASCII drawing" for dimensioning. (My old iMac power supply crapped out for the nth time and seems no one any longer can repair it. And all the older apps and many of the files no longer can be accessed with the later Intel iMacs.)

    Thank you for reference to the VHB tape quide
    Honestly, that's a pretty nice "case". You should make a template and post it as a PDF.

    Here is a guide on using VHB tapes.
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