DIY Help:Through-Hole Plating, Rivets, Tools ....and other questions

[tuk]

Have been looking at copper rivets for through-plating, some of the tools seem really expensive; the manual punch tool in the link is U$450 ...and for each rivet size a separate tool is required at $160 each ..and that's before we buy any rivets

Another tool is the BG11 CIF | Fast insertion tool for rivet | 160-3694 | Welcome to RS Online ..again $110 is not exactly cheap for diy......
is there a low/no cost alternative method for inserting rivets that achieves the same result?

As rivets come in packets of 1000/100;
I am hoping to use a one-size-fits-all rivet for all my through-plating needs; maybe around 0.8mm internal 1-1.3mm external/drill?

On the same pcb is a battery holder(KEYSTONE - 3001 - RETAINER, COIN CELL, 12MM); which requires large through-holes(approx. 2mm); the bat holder has two little clips like the bottom half of a letter t which snap/clip onto the inside of the drill hole(before soldering).....see pics below; I only need 2 for the battery; so to avoid buying 1000 x 2mm rivets & the extra tooling etc, ..I am thinking of top routing the 2 connections and surface mounting the clips instead...my only worry is the solder join taking the weight when a battery is inserted/ejected...
thoughts on this or anything else mentioned are welcome?


bottom...you can just make out the little half-moon baseplate of the clips...although in the pic they do not appear to be clipped onto the side of the drill hole as they should be




....do all the holes in this pic look like rivets(they look identical on both sides?)



Thanks for reading,

 

[jpanhalt]

Several years ago, I got some rivets for connecting layers. They were sold as repair for plated through holes by Circuit Technology Center (**broken link removed**). That link goes to a similar site. Under plated through hole repair, you will find this site: **broken link removed**

Apparently, Circuit Medic now sells the things. All you need is a small, bench-style, arbor press. A hand press -- not hydraulic -- is probably best. You can easily make the set and die for installation, if you have access to a small lathe. The factory tools when I bought mine were only about $100, so I bought them not knowing what they consisted of. I still ended up making a holder for the set, because I wanted it to snap into my press. They are not precision pieces. I stopped using them long ago, except in unusual situations. They work, but so do the leads of through-hole components and small pieces of wire soldered to both sides.

As for your final picture, it will not load today for me. But, if the holes are identical on both sides, I suspect they are plated through holes, not rivets. All rivets come with a manufactured head (either funnel or flat), and you make the shop head. The shop head will have a slight curl to the lip. The flat head is easily distinguished from the shop head. My experience is only with the flat head, as that is what was available at the time. The funnel headed rivets may give sides that are more similar in appearance, but they are probably still not identical.

John

Edit: Must have been a slow link. The image loaded, and the holes do look plated through. A rivet will always stand higher than the PCB foil, and that does not appear to be the case in this example.

 

[FvM]

Obviously, you photo shows a standards galvanically through plated board without any rivets.

A popular DIY method to make 2-sided boards without throughplating is to avoid component side connected pads under components. other top side pads can be soldered manually, via connections are made by pieces of wire or special "track pins". A few pads can be additionally connected by rivets plugged into the holes and soldered form both sides but not necessarily clenched. So no special tools are needed.

I remember to have seen rivet through-"plating" being used even for retail products. But I fear, they hardly had achieved reliable connections.

The said battery clip doesn't require rivets for the outer pins on the shown board, because they aren't connected on the component side. The center pad however will.

 

[tuk]

thanks for info guys, I will probably go with moving my vias to open space and using track pins...I'l keep the via repair kit in mind should the need arise

the middle mounting on the battery clip, maybe I can insert a track pin on bottom side and snip it level on component side..then fill the hole&pin with solder to create a pad