How to mount components in a box?

[ryan27968]

just use the ben heck method. hot glue all the way!!!

[fungus]

just use the ben heck method. hot glue all the way!!!

If the job of this is to stop electronics rattling around inside a plastic box then just about anything will do. We're not building to mil spec here.

(Or maybe we are and he didn't tell us. It wouldn't be the first time...)

So either:
a) Drill and screw
or
b) Sandpaper surface then epoxy/hot glue.

[dc42]

Another approach I've used is to use push-buttons, rotary encoders, potentiometers etc. that have a bush and nut for panel-mounting but have PCB terminals. I solder these devices to the PCB or stripboard, then I panel-mount them on the enclosure. No additional fixings needed.

[MichaelMeissner]

my Uno has 4 mounting holes, but the hole next to the reset button is too close to the pin's to be able to use a screw to attach to the stand-off.

Have you considered using Nylon hardware?
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=667&parentcatid=791
I bought a few bags of assorted sizes several years ago and right after I placed my order I found out my local hardware store stocks small nylon hardware.

The problem is the UNO r3 added 2 additional pins (i2c SCA/SDA) over the r2 next to the AREF pin, and those pins are flush with the mounting hole.  That means it is impossible to use a normal M3 screw to attach the standoff leg, since the screw head is too big.  I imagine you could use a grinder to cut down on one side of a nylon screw head, and screw it from the bottom, or just use a post with no screw to mount it.  If you don't have a shield on top, you could just use a longer screw, but many of the shields I've seen now have the two additional connection terminals.

The UNO designers were sort of between a rock and hard place, in that where they put the extra 2 pins is about the only logical place to put it, and if they had moved the stand off hole, it would not have been compatible with earlier designs.

[GoForSmoke]

With plastic models and slot cars that used screws into threaded parts, if the threads got stripped we just put some glue in the hole and turned the screw in. Hours later we had a threaded hole. So with ABS you might drill a small hole and soften the plastic with ABS cement and then turn a bolt in the hole.
Or drill a bigger hole and leave the bolt head on the outside and clamp it in place with a nut on the inside. A washer on either side wouldn't hurt and those you could put glue on.

In the right place, tie wraps might work.

[LROBBINS]

PERC containing GOOP is still available in the U.S. as the industrial product (from the same manufacturer) E6000.  Not only is it non-flammable, but it is lower viscosity to begin with and doesn't harden in the tube over time, at least not at the rate that the retail stuff does.  You will not find it in retail stores, but the manufacturer does have a web site, though e-bay prices are usually cheaper than theirs.  Just search E6000.  Cheapest supplier I've found so far is a Hong Kong wedding-decorations supplier: LiNg's moment <info3@lingsmoment.com>
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120783551503&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Great stuff also for strain relief and insulation of wiring: non-corrosive and you can un-solder right through it as an iron will melt it.

Ciao,
Lenny

[fungus]

The problem is the UNO r3 added 2 additional pins (i2c SCA/SDA) over the r2 next to the AREF pin, and those pins are flush with the mounting hole.  That means it is impossible to use a normal M3 screw to attach the standoff leg, since the screw head is too big.  I imagine you could use a grinder to cut down on one side of a nylon screw head, and screw it from the bottom, or just use a post with no screw to mount it.  If you don't have a shield on top, you could just use a longer screw, but many of the shields I've seen now have the two additional connection terminals.

The UNO designers were sort of between a rock and hard place, in that where they put the extra 2 pins is about the only logical place to put it, and if they had moved the stand off hole, it would not have been compatible with earlier designs.

The other three screws aren't enough?

[GoForSmoke]

Take a look at plastic mobo standoffs.
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Plastic-Motherboard-Standoffs-Computer/dp/B00032Q33S

Or make your own.
http://lifehacker.com/5540014/diy-makeshift-motherboard-standoffs-from-nylon-tubing

Spend some time searching the net.