Printed Circuit Board Stiffener

Large printed circuit boards (PCB) require a mechanical stiffener to eliminate warp and bow which is often present.  This is a must for good guidance of a PCB into an edge connector and for reliable operation afterward.

Why use a PCB Stiffener?

• Reduce warp and bow when handling large PCB.
• Eliminate dangerous deflection due to vibration and bending.
• Assure good guidance of a PCB into its backplane connector.

Advantages that may improve your design:

• Same bar will mount on PCB's with different hole locations.
• Eliminate close tolerances between mounting holes on PCB's.
• In most cases, the PCB stiffener will occupy less precious real estate on the board.
• Can be mounted over insulated spacers to clear copper traces or wire adds.
• Can be anodized different colors for coding.
• Ideal PCB label area, when used on read edge of the PCB.
• Strong and light weight.
• Clean, professional appearance.
• Rivet mounting reduces assembly time.
• Can also be used as a heat sink or power/ground bus.  (Use metal spacers and washers.)