Low cost (single ended) soldering pins?

[TTL]

I need a few (perhaps 30) soldering pins for stacking two PCBs together but they only seem to be sold in huge amounts (1000 pcs) through the major electronics firms (Farnell/Elements 14 etc.) or with rather high shipping costs through eBay.
I believe they're 1mm in diameter with a length around 7 to 10mm.

I was sure something like this would be available from China for almost nothing, but maybe I've just used the wrong search terms or something ("vero pins", "solder pins", "terminal pins" etc) when looking through eBay, AliExpress etc.
The photo below is taken from Maplin who has them, but unfortunately they don't ship outside of the UK any longer.

Who sells pins like that in small quantities, at low cost?

 

[Alec_t]

... or something like this?

 

[TTL]

Yes, that could work!

I'd remove the black plastic first of course, since I just need the pins. My only concern is that the pins might be a bit thin. I couldn't find any pin diameter specs in that link, but it should be around 1mm.
Also, those pins don't have the flat head which the Vero soldering pins have.

 

[kellys_eye]

The original veropin (as you picture them) seem rather short for stacking pcb's.

Most pcb's are 1.6mm thick and the pin passes through the bottom of the board so you're left with only 6.5mm or so to cram the components on the board since the pin has to pass through the next (stacked) board so you can solder it.

Are you quite sure the 'veropin' is the right part for the task? The stand-offs you show are far better for the purpose and can be cut to length after soldering.

 

[Alec_t]

I couldn't find any pin diameter specs in that link

Pin cross section is 0.025 x 0.025 inches.
Here's the datasheet.

 

[TTL]

Thanks Alec_t.
0.025" translates to 0.635mm which IMHO is a bit on the loose side for most PCB holes. As far as I remember they're usually around 1mm in diameter (or slightly less, so the pins make a tight fit).

kellys_eye: what you say makes sense, but I did use the ones I had left over for mounting a PCB on top of another (with a sheet of foam in between to avoid short-circuiting) as shown in the photos below:









So I had to check out the pins I already have (and am soon running out of). They're approximately 10mm long, and even then I cut a part off.
I was mistaken about the "flat head" statement earlier (I used to have those as well, but years ago), as the ones I used for the above project have that protruding section almost in the middle. Does anyone know what they're called and if they can be bought cheaply from somewhere in not so large quantities?

 

[Alec_t]

Seems they're called PC pins.
Something here suitable?

 

[dorke]

They are called "board to board headers" or simply "pin headers"
They are very cheap and easy to get.
The standard are square pins , 0.1" spacing,they are easily breakable.
It is possible to salvage them from old PC-boards etc.

You may find them in a local shop near you as well.

 

[73's de Edd]

Do these AVAILABLE CHEEEP break apart strips provide enough board separation? . . . . . . in looking at your photo, it seems that it does

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10Pcs-40Pin...285429&hash=item283b8d22a6:g:F~IAAOSwtFtZe4cE


And this is being just a single hobby assembly, isn’t it . . . . with there being no 819 other boards to build up as duplicates ?


Am I correct that there would be one board on top with its components side up and the foil side on the bottom and then, the need for that pass thru connector to be soldered to the foil side on the bottom, to the foil

THEN there is the inter-board mechanical spacing provided by the connector and it then encounters a bottom board hole and passes thru it and then is soldered to the bottom foil side.

Therewith, you get mechanical support and inter board spacing, as well as selective electrical interconnectivity between the boards.


El Mas Cheapo . . . .

I have even done this “ fo’ frees ” starting with tinned wire of the proper gauge.

Initially, selecting more length than needed , then doing a “pulling” of the wire to make it 10% longer and ALSO, then, with it being perfectly STRAIGHT.
Then the selection of a slightly larger gauge of insulated wire to pull the wire out and leave the insulation, to then be slipped on my slightly smaller wire to serve as a / multiple full length insulated spacer (s).



73’s de Edd

 

[TTL]

Those different pin headers should be fine except they're a bit thin.
I really need something to firmly fit in a regular PCB hole which I believe is around 0.8-1mm before soldering, and by soldering it as well it should provide a really firm mechanical connection.

I need to look closer at those PC pins, Alec_t. Initially not anything that looked like what I'm after but with over 125 different kinds they might have something suitable.

 

[TTL]

I believe I've found them at RS-components, going by the name of "Vero terminal pin" or "Vero terminal post".
I need to do some measurements and further checking, but they look like the ones.

Once I get an order big enough to justify the cost of ordering from them I'll get a bag of those as well.