Solder Cup??

[elw9514]

Hey, I am attempting to solder 18 gauge wire to a pcb board, and am looking for a solder cup. Basically something to solder to the board, the wire sits in the cup and then is soldered into it. Any idea where I can find these, or any other suggestions??

 

[Harvey]

It sounds like you want to solder the wire to a board where the the existing bare metal contact area wouldn't have enough mechanical strength to hold the wire under stress. One possible solution:

1. If there's enough contact area (~ 1/4" circle or larger), drill a 1/8" hole, and mount a solder tab like this with a 4-40 screw, nut and lock washer.

If you have one, you can use a Keps nut, which is a nut with an attached lock washer, like this:

Hope that helps. 🙂

 

[mfenn]

I wouldn't advise drilling through a PCB unless you know for certain that it is a single-layer board. In a multilayer board, it is quite possible (even probable), that there are traces going underneath the solder pad.

If you're worried about mechanical stress on the wire, then you have a bigger problem that you need to solve rather having the wire carry the load. You may need to fashion a strain-relief bracket that attaches to the PCB at one of the existing screw holes.

 

[Harvey]

I wouldn't advise drilling through a PCB unless you know for certain that it is a single-layer board. In a multilayer board, it is quite possible (even probable), that there are traces going underneath the solder pad.

True, but he was already asking about a solder cup which I thought would go through an existing hole large enough to allow 18 guage wire through it.