How are you Storing & Protecting your PCBs?

[TastySoil]

I'm just curious how you guys are storing and protecting your arcade PCBs-- I just saw this photograph of a board housed in what looks like a homemade plexi-glass PCB protector. Is this dangerous for the board (as far as overheating?) -- It seems like an awesome idea so you don't bump anything while swapping boards on your cab, but thought i'd get more input on this. I'm also curious about other ways you guys store your boards that aren't in your cabinets.

P.S. here is the photo of the board i'm asking about:

[speedlolita]

Notice that there are no heatsinks on the board? I think that's a good indication that it isn't going to overheat. If anything, the acrylic would help airflow.

[cools]

Notice that there are no heatsinks on the board?

Your eyes need testing.

On-topic: in anti-static bags, in foam lined mailing boxes.

[Devil Soundwave]

I keep mine in antistatic bags in "pizza style" boxes I got off ebay.

[speedlolita]

Notice that there are no heatsinks on the board?

Your eyes need testing.

On-topic: in anti-static bags, in foam lined mailing boxes.

Yeah, but that's just the amp ic ain't it?

[trmatthe]

TastySoil - if the PCB is actually touching the acrylic I'd be very concerned about static electricity. Acrylic is a smashing insulator so is super good at building a static charge

As has been said, antistatic bags, boards on their edge so they don't sag and ideally boxed. Bubble wrap is fine as long as it's a/s which generally means pink not clear.

Foam rubber squashed around a £250 boardset, like the Star Wars I just received in the post is not good. I could light a smoke off the sparks that generates.

[TastySoil]

Thanks for the info on this, I can get some pretty badass boxes at my job (motherboards are shipped to the computer techs in them) they just throw the boxes out and I can grab them. It's a perfect fit for my esprade and ddp doj boards. I'll stick with this technique and stay away from what's in the photograph.

[emphatic]

Plus most JAMMA games are crap

THIS IS MORONIC!

Those boxes you've found at your workplace sounds like a gold mine. I used to have two cardboard boxes and stored my PCB's standing next to each other (like vinyl records) with cardboard as spacers so no parts would hook onto each other. Of course individually wrapped in pink bubble wrap. Then for some crazy **** reason I decided to get one box for each game, and that led to me selling of 15 or so games to have room for the ones left.

[TastySoil]

Those boxes you've found at your workplace sounds like a gold mine. I

The boxes work out really awesome actually, check it out:



grabbed like 10 of em' today. Now just need to get some more PCBs to fill them up with

[yosai]

PCBs and wax. A great combination.

[Womble]

Those boxes you've found at your workplace sounds like a gold mine. I

The boxes work out really awesome actually, check it out:



grabbed like 10 of em' today. Now just need to get some more PCBs to fill them up with

Cisco 6500 blade boxes perchance? Thats what I use!

[pubjoe]

How are you Storing & Protecting your PCBs?

Rubbish.

A while ago, I thought it would be nice to display my CPS2 boards standing face forwards, squeezed between two shelves - they just creaked into place. But eventually I heard a crack and then Super Turbo jumped half way accross the room and landed on the floor. Oops.

...Still works, but I need to glue a bit of the case back together.

[P-man]

I have about 1000 pcbs, 900 or so live in my loft. Each one is wraped in an anti-static bag and put into boxes, every pcb stands on its side with a few exceptions, but it keeps my boxes rigid for stacking.

If i sell a pcb, it goes out in its anti-static bag, and i wrap it in normal bubblewrap. I don't have a free source of packing materials, and anti-static bubblwewrap is prohibitively expensive, customers wont stand to pay for the difference in materials. I'm not overly happy about it, but in my experience of sending out pcbs, normal bubble is fine and i have virtually no returns.

Of course i have my own custom database to keep track of where they all are so that i can retrieve any PCB i have within about 4 minutes, this includes getting the loft ladder down and putting it away again at the end

There are about 400 in the boxes in this photo, i have another wall of boxes like this at the opposite end and mini-walls in other areas

http://www.andysarcade.net/pix/DSC_1718.JPG

[Alpha1]

There are about 400 in the boxes in this photo, i have another wall of boxes like this at the opposite end and mini-walls in other areas

http://www.andysarcade.net/pix/DSC_1718.JPG

He's lying, he keeps the heads of all his female victims in those boxes

[Drakon]

I use 5$ walmart tupperware containers and pcb feet. Does the job

[trmatthe]

I use 5$ walmart tupperware containers and pcb feet. Does the job

That tupperware is going to be building an awesome surface static charge. Fair enough the feet stop the board touching the container, but storing something in a box which is basically holding a couple of kV of static isn't good.

[maxio098ui]

Sorry to revive this thread but does anyone know what are good boxes i can get off ebay or so? and Anti static bags?

Thx

[wonderbanana]

Just for reference I found some awesome plastic boxes at Hobbycraft that are perfect for PCB's - stackable, great sizes, lockable side handles and very solid. Would be easy to bung artwork on on the tops and sides if thats your thing too.

What makes them great is they have the length and width without being too deep.

I used the 1L one for a Sega STV and SIlkworm mobo and the 1.1L is perfect for Naomi mobo or for a Taito F3 mobo with cart for example. In fact for the last two it's almost like they are made for them!

[trmatthe]

I found some awesome plastic boxes ... that are perfect for PCB's

They're not. If your PCBs could speak, they'd squeak "Please don't put me in that terrible lump of static electricity generating plastic PLEASE? Won't somebody think of the children^W PCBs!"

Plastic, especially the type of poly these boxes will be made from are superb insulators. Which means that the energy required to force an electron to move (breakdown voltage - required to conduct electricity) is very very high because the atomic configuration has no electrons which are not tightly bound. So these insulators can build up a HUGE charge because the breakdown voltage is so high.

So instead of any static being dissipated it just builds up on the surface of the plastic and waits for something to make a link to ground potential, such as you touching the PCB and being in contact with some of the metal on there, the PCB being in contact with the electron-loaded surface of the box, and your feet being on the ground.

That's just made a path to ground for the kiloVolts of potential on the plastic box (because the box is such a good insulator remember, it's going to build up an awesome charge over time), through the delicate PCB, down your arm and then into the earth. So you're actually using the PCB as part of a static grounding strap Anti-static bags or bubble-wrap avoid this problem by doping the plastic with conductive elements which stops the build up of charge.

Storing electronics in plastic or tupperware boxes isn't far off using a PCB as a snow-shoe whilst indoor skating on a nylon carpet. Seriously.

[clutch]

Storing electronics in plastic or tupperware boxes isn't far off using a PCB as a snow-shoe whilst indoor skating on a nylon carpet. Seriously.