does anyone use hot glue or silocone on top of solder connections

[gomotomoto]

On one of the DJI build videos, they show the builder using a dab of hot glue on each solder point. Does anyone here do this?

In the video, they say to do it in order to avoid shorting.

 

[DucktileMedia]

You could but a few notes worth mentioning. It's important to clean the flux off your joints as the flux will slowly corrode the metal around it. If you do seal it with something make sure you can peel it off easily. nothing is worse than scraping a blob of that liquid electrical tape off a joint that you need to re-solder. If you have wires that are so close that you need to worry about them touching, I would consider repositioning them.

 

[SoCal Blur]

So they are basically asking you to insulate the solder points. what solder points, exactly? If it's wires, you should be heat shrinking your soldered connections. If it's say on a PDB, it can't hurt but what, exactly could it short against assuming that you aren't sloppy in your build? I've not seen the video or worked with DJI so I'm asking out of curiosity.

 

[JoeBob]

A 550 Flamewheel has 7 pairs of positive and negative solder points in close proximity to each other. A dropped driver bit, a GPS base mount, or a dollop of liquid could short any of them. With $500 of FC on the same circuit, I chose to insulate.

I used the liquid electrical tape. And I discovered about an hour ago, that it comes off easier than I thought. After scraping it a little with an exacto knife to create an edge, I simply pinched it up with my fingers and pulled it off like a big rubber bugger. The wires cleaned easily; I haven't tried the plate.

 

[gomotomoto]

So they are basically asking you to insulate the solder points. what solder points, exactly? If it's wires, you should be heat shrinking your soldered connections. If it's say on a PDB, it can't hurt but what, exactly could it short against assuming that you aren't sloppy in your build? I've not seen the video or worked with DJI so I'm asking out of curiosity.

around 3:33 in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUTHIL_Xfcc

My build is pretty tidy, just was wondering if it was common practice.

 

[gomotomoto]

You could but a few notes worth mentioning. It's important to clean the flux off your joints as the flux will slowly corrode the metal around it. If you do seal it with something make sure you can peel it off easily. nothing is worse than scraping a blob of that liquid electrical tape off a joint that you need to re-solder. If you have wires that are so close that you need to worry about them touching, I would consider repositioning them.

Acetone for the flux cleanup?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PeteDee]

I would not use acetone near anything, use isopropyl alcohol.

In none of my 14-15 MR builds have I ever used anything to insulate the power connections and it has never been a problem in many, many flights.

If I really felt that I just had to do so I would just use some tape or some flowable silicon that is made specifically for the job.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS-692-54...LUID-X-90ML-B-BEFORE-WK-26-2013-/271359148467

I use the flowable silicon to anchor leads and connectors on micro heli's.

Pete

 

[DucktileMedia]

I didnt even know that stuff existed! I agree though, you shouldnt need to over-do your insulation. Wires should always be cleaned and heat shrunk. All joints should be glossy and not dull( that indicated a weak soldering joint.) When you need to swap an ESC/motor you wont want to have to deal with cleaning too much crap out of your solder area. even if it looks clean the heat from the solder wont burn off enough of the junk to clean it like welding might. So using something that either peels off in one piece or just a layer of tape or a barrier might be a better choice. I did this once out of paranoia that wire might somehow pop out and short itself but this has never come close to happening. If you have a positive and negative wire that are physically pushing into each other, you should not rely on tape or heat shrink to insulate them. move the wires what ever it takes. Im not sure what kind, if any, RFI or magnetic interference occurs from having +/- wires touching or parallel but I'm pretty sure it's better to keep them apart.

 

[coreyperez]

Never tried it, but it looks cool:

"Sugru"

http://www.amazon.com/Sugru-SMLT8-H...?ie=UTF8&qid=1396066065&sr=8-1&keywords=sugru

Corey

 

[jes1111]

Im not sure what kind, if any, RFI or magnetic interference occurs from having +/- wires touching or parallel but I'm pretty sure it's better to keep them apart.

Parallel is actually the worst for power wires - lots of radiated interference. Power wires should be twisted wherever possible - makes the fields "cancel each other out"

 

[Bartman]

Parallel is actually the worst for power wires - lots of radiated interference. Power wires should be twisted wherever possible - makes the fields "cancel each other out"

are you sure about that? in videos where interference is demonstrated the wires are worst when they're apart and best when alongside each other. twisting maximizes the effect of them being close to each other but parallel and held closely together seems to be adequate for a lot of things. i'll have to find one of those videos, maybe i've got it wrong.

 

[RTRyder]

If you do want to use silicone to cover anything electrical, make sure you get some that is specifically for use in electronics, most silicone in a tube contains acetic acid which will corrode the traces on a circuit board. If you must use anything at all then cheap hot glue works well and can be peeled off fairly easily if needed, plus the stuff is pretty much inert and won't hurt anything. If it doesn't peel then a heat gun will soften it enough so it can be pulled off...

Ken

 

[jes1111]

are you sure about that? in videos where interference is demonstrated the wires are worst when they're apart and best when alongside each other. twisting maximizes the effect of them being close to each other but parallel and held closely together seems to be adequate for a lot of things. i'll have to find one of those videos, maybe i've got it wrong.

You know I'm always sure of what I say, bart

"Parallel" doesn't specify the distance between the wires. Parallel and spaced apart is worst - widens the radiated EMI field. Parallel and close/touching is better - keeps the radiated EMI field narrower. Twisted is best - reduces the radiated EMI field - So, parallel and close is "ok" but twist them if you can - the twist doesn't have to be "tight".

 

[SoCal Blur]

You know I'm always sure of what I say, bart

"Parallel" doesn't specify the distance between the wires. Parallel and spaced apart is worst - widens the radiated EMI field. Parallel and close/touching is better - keeps the radiated EMI field narrower.

For clarification, that is only true with "like" electrical sources. For example, you don't want to run AC lines in parallel with any DC circuits because the AC will induce interference onto the DC circuit. If you run DC circuits in parallel with AC circuits, they should be at least 6" apart. The farther apart, the better especially if the DC circuit is carrying digital information. If they must cross, it should be at 90 degrees. The effect is increased as the AC voltage is increased. Keep in mind, that pulsed DC circuits behave like AC circuits...creating and collapsing magnetic fields. (eg. BECs and ESCs)

 

[Roger Ramjet]

Totally agree with Ken. I use a good dab of cheap and universally available hot glue on all my board connections. It comes off easily if your pry one corner with a screwdriver and leaves no residues. IMHO it is important to isolate open voltage connections (pads on boards) for day to day usage as well as in case of emergencies (crash). It also acts as a mechanical means by which your connection is held to the board. I have had a main positive wire popping up in flight due to a solder joint that cracked due to fatigue over time (more than 125 flights). The result was as gracious as a flying brick and resulted in minor damages (lucky and low altitude). From that date, I always use hot glue over all boards connections. I have a short on board video of the event if anyone interested.