flextacwire dots

Bonding Jumper Wires

There are a variety of methods for attaching jumper wires to a printed circuit board after PWB modification or rework. The most common methods employed include:

• Use of glue/adhesive to tack the wire in place
• Use of pre-glued wire that can be heat activated to tack the wire to the board
• Flexible adhesive-backed film for tacking the wire in plAce

The first method consists of either an electrical grade 2=part epoxy or cycroanolyte fast-curing adhesive. First the modifications are made with the wire routing scheme planned out. After being soldered to proper location the wire is adhered using the adhesive system. In the case of the cycroanolyte many times operators have a hard time keeping the amount of adhesive to a minimum thereby smearing the adhesive in many areas near the wire. In the case of the epoxy, the 2 –part system has a limited “ot life” and also tends to messy in its application.

The pre-glued wire method relies on the heat curing of the wire after soldering the ends of the jumper wire in to position. This precludes the user for specifying the exact type of wire, number of strands, color coding and jacket material as the selection of the pre-adhered jumper wire is limited.

The flexible-backed adhesive system is a clean method for attaching jumper wires. The newest of these films is a complete high temperature system in which both the film material and the adhesive system is high-temperature rated. These adhesive films can also be custom cut based on the configuration required. HotDots™ are the latest in such systems.