Saggy PSU Main Board - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2025, 02:44:15 pm
content: This PSU board I bought started to sag and I cannot find a solution to the problem. Some people were recommending putting warped boards in an oven --I am not doing that. It seems there should have been a hole for a standoff, but there is a transformer right in the middle of the board, where it is now sagging (it was flat and straight when I got it about 2 months ago).If possible, I don't want to do anything too drastic, like the oven, or drilling holes. It is about to get installed into the final box today. The plan was to mount it to the bottom of the box, but maybe I can mount it to the top of the box. But maybe then it just starts sagging in the other direction.Maybe it is nothing to worry about, IDK, I just want to get this thing into the final box.Thank You!

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2025, 04:55:24 pm
content: if possible i would create some stand off block of the right thickness to simply and gently un-warp itor use some fr4 pcb or non conductive insulator, to be sure in the center (the most warped section) wont touch the frame ...but your psu is already on a plexiglass ??i would not fret over it, it's okay

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2025, 06:10:33 pm
content: That's a lot of mass for 4 end screws. A couple of self-adhesive rubber feet should do the trick, even if you have to carve them a little to get a height match. Try to position them below the secondary side of the transformer.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2025, 09:45:06 pm
content: Use a nylon standoff or board support. Attach one end firmly to the base but have the other end just pressing against the bottom of the board in a safe spot where there aren't any traces.

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2025, 10:06:14 pm
content: Quote from: coromonadalix on June 09, 2025, 04:55:24 pmThat is just a piece of plexiglass that I use when I need to mount something to test. A test board/bed?The looks of it bending doesn't bother me, but I am now in an extreme environment, right on the ocean. The ocean destroys everything. If the board, or some part of it, gets a micro fracture, eg a trace gets exposed, it will be game over in less than a year. That was my big concern.Thanks Guys for the Good Advice!

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2025, 10:53:31 am
content: Quote from: vidarr on June 09, 2025, 10:06:14 pmOcean means movement - not great with that lump of metal on the board. Maybe hotglue the whole board to something stiff so it does not bend any more? (I would have suggested hotglueing it to the plexiglass, but that might not conform to safety rules/fire hazard rules, so better use something non-flammable and isolating, or isolation and a metal sheet.)

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2025, 06:33:46 pm
content: Quote from: Haenk on June 10, 2025, 10:53:31 amI just got this gorilla glue a month ago for another project, that is supposed to be OK to use in this kind of situation ---eg gluing circuit board to plexi. I did a test with a little 120VAC to 12VDC transformer PSU thing and it worked. It needed to be fastened to a board, but there were absolutely no places to put holes, or any kind of bracket, so I just glued it down. When it heated up to operating temp, it moved slightly, but after a week, it is now solidly in place with no movement anymore.Thanks Guys!

author: vidarr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2025, 06:40:16 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 09, 2025, 06:10:33 pmThis is kind of the route I decided to take, but probably with a dab of this glue I have. A dab under the transformer in a mostly vacant section of the board, kind of where you suggested (secondary side). I don't think I am going to necessarily glue the PSU to the Acrylic, but let the glue/epoxy form a kind of rubber foot that perfectly molds/cures and matches the dimensions it should be.