Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
(OP)
Hello Engineering Forums,
I will shortly be making a small press for PCB laminate fusing and to this end would appreciate a tip on which steel/"other material" type to use for the press' top and bottom plates. I've included a preliminary drawing of the press - hope it may give an idea about what I'm considering.
Some of the criteria for these steel/"other material" plates are:
- The steel/other material plate should bend as little as possible when pressing the PCB parts inside. When heated to 200 degr. celsius the bend deformation on the middle of the plates - relative to the sides where the tightening bolts are - should be less than 0.015 mm per plate, i.e. less than 0.03 mm for both plates. The plates should be able to press on the PCB parts with a pressure of 15 kg/cm2 with this deformation.
- The steel/other material plates must be able to transfer heat - i.e. not an insulator material.
- The steel/other material plate should not rust or corrode even when heated to 500 degr. celsius in a normal indoors environment. It's also fine if this may be achieved through some kind of surface treatment that does not affect the PCB parts inside.
- The steel/other material plate should be easily machinable
- The price for the plates should be quite reasonable - and the plates should also be readily available e.g in the UK (assuming that in this case such plates will also be available in Denmark).
I hope it is reasonably clear what I'm thinking of/what the criteria are for these two plates ... And to this end:
A.: May you have a suggestion as to which material would be feasible for these two plates? If altogether steel is preferred is there then a specific alloy that is best suited to this purpose?
B.: Which thickness of the plates would be sufficient? I'm considering 8- 15 mms (and I may calculate this, if necessary) but if you have an idea just off the bat that would be fine.
C.: Would it make sense to mount some structural braces on the top & bottom of the press - so as to increase stiffness and possibly reduce the thickness of the plates?
Well, if you got this far then thanks for reading & maybe also being able to give some feedback - I would appreciate your help in this ...
Cheers,
Jesper
I will shortly be making a small press for PCB laminate fusing and to this end would appreciate a tip on which steel/"other material" type to use for the press' top and bottom plates. I've included a preliminary drawing of the press - hope it may give an idea about what I'm considering.
Some of the criteria for these steel/"other material" plates are:
- The steel/other material plate should bend as little as possible when pressing the PCB parts inside. When heated to 200 degr. celsius the bend deformation on the middle of the plates - relative to the sides where the tightening bolts are - should be less than 0.015 mm per plate, i.e. less than 0.03 mm for both plates. The plates should be able to press on the PCB parts with a pressure of 15 kg/cm2 with this deformation.
- The steel/other material plates must be able to transfer heat - i.e. not an insulator material.
- The steel/other material plate should not rust or corrode even when heated to 500 degr. celsius in a normal indoors environment. It's also fine if this may be achieved through some kind of surface treatment that does not affect the PCB parts inside.
- The steel/other material plate should be easily machinable
- The price for the plates should be quite reasonable - and the plates should also be readily available e.g in the UK (assuming that in this case such plates will also be available in Denmark).
I hope it is reasonably clear what I'm thinking of/what the criteria are for these two plates ... And to this end:
A.: May you have a suggestion as to which material would be feasible for these two plates? If altogether steel is preferred is there then a specific alloy that is best suited to this purpose?
B.: Which thickness of the plates would be sufficient? I'm considering 8- 15 mms (and I may calculate this, if necessary) but if you have an idea just off the bat that would be fine.
C.: Would it make sense to mount some structural braces on the top & bottom of the press - so as to increase stiffness and possibly reduce the thickness of the plates?
Well, if you got this far then thanks for reading & maybe also being able to give some feedback - I would appreciate your help in this ...

Cheers,
Jesper





RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Maui
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
& thanks for your feedback - I'll see if I can get H13 steel where I live here in Denmark (In case I cannot - may you suggest an alternative?).
Regarding the attachment I can open it myself - so don't know what happens .. ?? ... As a possible solution I have attached it again to this post with another file name - hope that solves it (it's a jpg file).
No, you are right. I don't exactly know what it should be in practice, however, what is in the middle between the two plates is an appr. 0.3 mm thick re-inforced epoxy layer (PCB prepreg) and on both sides of this layer are e.g. 0.2 mm copper foils. So the hardest material in direct contact with the steel plates is copper. Would this change any of your recommendations?
Is this something I would be able to apply myself or does it need/is best done by a professional?
Cheers,
Jesper
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
The thickness is what will limit the defection under load.
Do some basic bending beam calculations and see if you need to make it thicker.
Hardness, strength and such properties don't matter.
I like the idea of H13, or any tool steel designed for hot work. These materials will be more dimensionly stable when temperature cycled.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
You're welcome. I was able to open the attachment in your second post. A typical hardness range for quenched and tempered H13 would be 45 - 50 Rockwell C. So quenched and tempered H13 will be more than hard enough for the application that you described. Make the plates as thick as your design will permit in order to minimize the deflections under load. You will not be able to perform nitriding or PVD coating yourself. It should be performed by a trained professional.
Maui
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Just a thought. In your next edition of the book, you could consider a chapter on " How to select materials". I find too often this question being posed in this forum, with very little inputs from the OP.
"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."
Mahatma Gandhi.
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Thank you both for your inputs.
@EdStainless:
Uh ... it's been a long while since I've done this. Did it during my engineering studies but have almost entirely been focussed on electronics engineering since then - so although I recognise that it would be reasonable to do so maybe here I'll choose a bit of additional thickness as a short cut ...
@Maui:
Ok - fine. I'll make an internet search to see where I can find this.
@arunmrao:
... Hmmm - although your comment is given to Maui - since you post your comment in this thread I will take the liberty to reply ... Knowing that I can only speak for myself here ... but IMHO one of the very fine qualities of a forum like this - and the help I have often received - is that I am able to get: 1. Almost instant & often very qualified help to a know-how "challenge" I may have. Something which may otherwise take many hours or days to clarify, 2. That the amount of "absorbing new knowledge" on my side is already huge so getting this help is indeed valuable, and 3. I wouldn't borrow/buy a specialized book to find out of this ... It takes too long to find out which book to order, ordering the book and also ... typically a book's treatment of its main topic is too comprehensive for my scope of finding out of this.
Well, not being a specialist in this field I may not assess if I've provided little input. But I always aim to give as balanced and sufficient input as I best can when I ask a question. So as to provide sufficient information while keeping the text not too long, and at the same time hoping/supporting that I get a useful reply - and ultimately do not "waste" the time of the people who reply. ... my thoughts on this ...
Cheers from Denmark
Jesper
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
The success of this forum is because members continue to actively contribute and share . Hope, you start sharing and participate more frequently rather than leach the forum.
Thanks.
"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."
Mahatma Gandhi.
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
I shall leave it here.
In neutrality,
Jesper
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."
Mahatma Gandhi.
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Maui
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Thank you also for your feedback ...
A good question ... Basically as flat as practically possible, yet within "reason". Flatness is most important related to a constant impedance across the PCB, yet as I won't be making long traces nor entering into ultra-high frequencies I would say that around 0.01 to 0.015 mm across each of the plates. But I guess it also depends on what is realistic in terms of the plates? And if a grinding may allow for tighter tolerances ... I probably may have access to a metal workshop where they have a manual mill probably of a reasonable quality (I have not yet seen it) but I don't know what are realistic tolerances here?
Any experience here?
Cheers,
Jesper
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...
Thanks again
Jesper
RE: Seek advice on which steel/metal type to use for a press setup ...