How do you mount electronics on a vehicle chassis safely?

I want to implement a control system I designed for a light electric motorbike. I would like to mount it as professionally as possible on the chassis. It consists of a power system pcb and a SAMC21 development board which I'll merge later once this all works properly. I have tried screwing it directly on the aluminium chassis but have found that shocks and vibrations from the horn disturbed the system or even destroyed it upon large shocks. Is there a specific way car and motorcycle manufacturers mount their electronics to make their system as robust as possible?

November 29, 2023

For prototype devices (which should last several months and are OK to fail occasionally), it is usually enough to mount the PCB on rubber inserts instead of bare screws). This greatly reduces peak accelerations your PCB sees, while keeping your prototype accessible and requiring minimum design changes.

For commercial products which should last 10 years or more, you want something more robust. I have seen automotive electronics where parts are assembled (or even the whole device is potted) with RTV silicone, which greatly helps with both mechanical sturdiness and heat transfer.

#PCB Assembly

Oliver Smith

Oliver is an experienced electronics engineer skilled in PCB design, analog circuits, embedded systems, and prototyping. His deep knowledge spans schematic capture, firmware coding, simulation, layout, testing, and troubleshooting. Oliver excels at taking projects from concept to mass production using his electrical design talents and mechanical aptitude.

Oliver Smith

What Others Are Asking

How can I handle missing solder mask opening on PCB footprint?

I have three through-hole PCBs that are missing front and back solder mask openings for two of the components. The solder mask (usually green) is covering the front and back solder pads. All other pads for all other parts are exposed. Is there a good way to remove the solder mask so that I can solder the components to the board?

Oliver Smith November 27, 2023

Can we do wave solder the through hole parts without masking it?

We would like to do wave soldering for the through hole components. All through hole components are top side of PCB. Only test points, which require mask during process, are on the bottom side. So there is a extra labour cost at adding and removing the mask. Can we do wave solder the through hole parts without masking it?

Oliver Smith November 21, 2023

Is solder mask a valid electrical insulator?

There is a copper pour over the entire top of the my PCB, which is part of GND net. It turns out that the surface mounted 1W LEDs I’m going to use have the heat slug connected internally to the LED’s +ve terminal. Can I rely on the solder mask to insulate the +ve voltage (~3V ish) from GND? Long term?

Oliver Smith December 7, 2023

How do you mount electronics on a vehicle chassis safely?

Oliver Smith

Oliver Smith

What Others Are Asking

How can I handle missing solder mask opening on PCB footprint?

Can we do wave solder the through hole parts without masking it?

Is solder mask a valid electrical insulator?

Read Detailed Advice From Blog Articles