It is often the case the custom plastic enclosures we are manufacturing require a method of securing electronics. This could include PCBs, Arduinos, Rapsberry Pi units, and even pumps, motors, LCDs, etc. In addition, there are also components of the plastic enclosure itself that may need to be fastened; such as a removable cover.
The hardware type that is most prevelent in electronic mounting situations are Ultrasert threaded brass inserts made by Dodge. The spec sheet can be referenced below.. The most common thread sizes we use in our custom plastic enclosures are 6-32 and 4-40 (however, others are available). You can see examples of how these inserts are utilized in the plastic enclosure pictures on this page. Inserts are heat staked into holes that are CNC milled earlier in the plastic fabrication process. Inserts can be installed into the outer side walls of housings, or a picture frame that supports a removable cover, and is most commonly inserted into mounting bosses and standoffs that are described below.
Mounting bosses / standoffs can be made or chosen in two ways. One way is to CNC route the boss out of sheet plastic which would be the exact or approxiamte height of the desired boss. We would then heat stake the brass insert into a blind or through hole in the center of the boss. The second way is to use one of our standard bosses that we chose to have molded due to consistent usage. In this case, the threaded brass Ultrasert is molded into the boss. Our most common material types (ABS and high impact polystyrene) and thread sizes (6-32 and 4-40) are available as the standard options. You can see our full inventory of standard bosses to use in your custom plastic housings in the PDF below.
dodge ultrasert iv datasheet.PDF