Torsion Spring Clamp
Soldering a THT component or daughter card to a PCB can be frustrating at times.
Before soldering you must make sure that the component is flat against your circuit board.
You can use ‘Masking Tape’ or ‘Blue Tack’ to keep the part in place before the PCB is inverted.
Torsion Spring Clamp (TSC).
Make a torsion spring clamp to hold THT components while they are being soldered.
When making the clamp, select a spring that has a reasonable amount of strength.
Use the threaded half of a bicycle spoke for the clamp’s arm.
Place a bushing in the spring to take out any sloppiness between the spring and the arm.
Use heat shrink to hold the spring to the arm as seen in the image below.
Your motherboard is securely held in place on the magnetic surface using several ‘Pinch Clamps’.
Load the ‘Torsion Spring Clamp’, move, and release the spring arm onto your component, confirm all leads are in the soldering position.
Solder diagonal leads then reconfirm your part is still in place. Reheat the soldered leads if necessary to reflow the part.
Finish soldering the rest of the component leads.
