Inserting Pin into 3M Breadboard

[cortes]

I'm starting my first non-kit electronics project. I have a new 3M motherboard. I'm trying to insert the pins of a PCB (I may be using the wrong term). They all line up, but won't go in when pushing hard with my fingers. I measured the width of the pins on the PCB. They 0.025 inches or 635 microns. Are they too big for the board? I couldn't find any specs for the board that said. I also have a solder breadboard. The PCB fits fine in it. If they're supposed to fit, how much pressure should I apply? I have a 2kilo sledge hammer  😉. Assuming I do get them in will they make future insertions too loose?

[xrunner]

0.025 " is what my pins measure. Maybe the spacing is wrong?

[jpanhalt]

As any carpenter will tell you, if it doesn't fit, you need a bigger hammer.

3M boards are considered high quality.  I have never had a problem inserting pin headers with 0.025" square pins.  That is on the upper end of what they are designed for. Something with a lot of pins will take more force.  Ordinary DIP IC's will fit fine.

[rstofer]

When 3M breadboards are first used, the socket is VERY stiff.  It's going to take some 'push' to get those 0.025" pins inserted, the first time.  Everything will work out fine but you can expect some difficulty removing the header as well.

You paid extra money to get usable contacts, just plan on having a bit of difficulty the first time a socket is used.

[rstofer]

0.025 square pins are at the absolute limit of 0.032 pin diameter according to this:

https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/809614O/brochure-solderless-breadboard.pdf

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[ledtester]

How many pins are you trying to push in at the same time?

[cortes]

It's an ESP32 board, 30 pins total. I took a 2x4 to it and got them pushed in. I started from one corner and worked my way around. I ordered the board with all 30 pins when I'm only going to use four or five. Next time I'll order it without pins and just solder in a few.

[Doctorandus_P]

You didn't even need an hydraulic press?

[tooki]

It's an ESP32 board, 30 pins total. I took a 2x4 to it and got them pushed in. I started from one corner and worked my way around. I ordered the board with all 30 pins when I'm only going to use four or five. Next time I'll order it without pins and just solder in a few.

Or solder in machined pin headers. They’re much easier on the breadboard. I try to avoid plugging square headers into breadboards, since it really strains the contacts. Especially on cheap breadboards, they often fail to grip thinner wires properly afterward.
3M breadboards are more resilient, but the first time inserting a wire of any kind can be tough, so a bunch of square pins all at once into a virgin 3M is basically the worst-case scenario as far as force required. If you have to insert such a beast into a new 3M, it’s much easier to insert one pin at a time to relax the sockets, then insert your module.

[ledtester]

You didn't even need an hydraulic press?

Not to mention the problem of removing a 30-pin module from a breadboard!

Breadboards were designed to accommodate wires, leaded components and ICs. Inserting a 40-pin IC into a breadboard is doable because IC pins are fairly thin.

I think a better solution is something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081167YZM



A carrier board securely holds your MCU module and a breadboard.

Another problem with plugging MCU modules into breadboards is that most MCU modules are quite wide which means that either you have to use two parallel breadboards or you're left with just one usable hole on a single breadboard.

For modules which already have pins installed, you can create an adapter like this:



This comes from  https://lucstechblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/breadboard-hack-for-esp32-and-esp8266.html which discusses other adaptation methods.

[RoGeorge]

The normal square pins are too thick to plug in breadboard.  The range of wire thickness in the breadboard's specs is given for round wires, not square.  Because the mating plug is shaped in the form of a circular hole, plugging a square in a circle doesn't work.

In practice, it fits eventually, if you don't try to fit all the square pins at once.  Keep the connector at a slide and wiggle it while pressing firmly.  Plugging square pins into breadboard is hard to do and it will weaken the breadboard.

For round pins/wires, the max is 0.032'' (0.81mm), and the typical jumping wire terminations are AWG22 (AWG22 == 0.025'' == 0.644mm):  https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/809614O/brochure-solderless-breadboard.pdf

[cortes]

You didn't even need an hydraulic press?

Actually, a press would have been a good idea. With the right jig, I could have put even pressure on all the pins at the same time. Now I have a reason to get one. I should probably go for 25 tons to be on the safe side 

I recently ordered something from Panavise and got a catalog. In it, there's a model 502 1/4 ton arbor press. Do you think it's for electronics

[cortes]

I think a better solution is something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081167YZM

Thanks for posting the link. I was just looking for something like that. My project includes a voltage converter that's too big for the breadboard. Are there any more general purpose items like that? I'm not planning on doing any Arduino projects. I tried searching on mounting boards. That mainly brings up surface mounting of electronics. I saw a video that had a board of evenly spaced holes in which to screw stand offs. The video didn't link the item and just called it a mounting surface.

[ledtester]

One solution for a carrier board I've been using is an upside-down plastic cafeteria food tray like this:



The perfboard and heatsink are held in place by wire twist-ties - the soft plastic makes it easy to drill holes wherever you need them.

As you can see, I also use 3M picture hanging "Command" strips - in this case for the pot and breadboard. I've also drilled small holes in the corners of a breadboard together with twist-ties.

Then you need some shelving for all of your on-going projects. On the right is a set of stackable letter trays and on the left is a plastic  "milk crate" to which I added some shelves.