Motherboard on anti-static shield? (Permanent Application)

[badaaim]

Hi everyone,

Is it possible to mount motherboard directly onto metal casing with anti-static plastic sheet in between? With back-plates for cooler and m.2 SSD, there would be large cut-outs on the case.
Or for the matter just cardboard sheet? I remember watching the STX 160 disassembly video and the builder used cardboard sheet to prevent shorting between motherboard and graphics card's back.

I appreciate your help in the matter, thank you.

 

[jeshikat]

You mean without standoffs?

 

[Biowarejak]

You mean without standoffs?

I mean, how?

 

[jeshikat]

Easy, just screw the motherboard directly to the tray with no standoffs in the way

I've seen plenty of first-time builders do just that when the cases either doesn't have any, or just some, of the standoffs pre-installed from the factory.

 

[badaaim]

YES!! without standoffs. I am trying to have minimum clearance between the tray and the motherboard so I was looking if that was possible,

So currently from my research I am under the impression that non-conductive material is required for that. So far cardboard or vinyl wrap could be a solution. Thoughts?

 

[confusis]

Anti-static bags/plastic is conductive. Use your imagination from there

 

[Biowarejak]

Easy, just screw the motherboard directly to the tray with no standoffs in the way

I've seen plenty of first-time builders do just that when the cases either doesn't have any, or just some, of the standoffs pre-installed from the factory.

Wow, you'd think the lack of clearance for the I/O shield would tip them off...

 

[jeshikat]

YES!! without standoffs.

You would have to be very careful to make sure there are cutouts in the tray where anything tall sticks out from the back of the motherboard. Otherwise you'd be warping the board when tightening down the screws.

The insulating layer will need to be adequate to resist the sharp leads on the backside of the motherboard from poking through it also.

Getting the IO shield to line up correctly may be a bit tricky and you only save a few mm doing this, so I'd recommend to keep the standoffs but that's just my $0.02.

 

[badaaim]

I really appreciate your input in this matter. That is something I kept thinking about, rejecting the idea of using just electrical tape as it wouldn't prevent those sharp leads from preventing shorting. No matter, I am going to continue ideating and shortly enough post about my success or failure. Thank you

 

[Phuncz]

If it's part of the chassis and not the exterior, but not an important piece of the structure, you could use a square (if mITX) frame to support it's mounting points and use the thickness of the metal as an offset so the bottom of the components rest on the exterior panel.

Like so:

That way you save the entire length of the standoff, but you use the mount frame as a sort of standoff. The problem is that it will also be dependent on the rear components and more importantly the cooling solution backplate thickness. You'd also need to apply something non-conductive to the outer panel to avoid short-circuits and think about vibration absorption. The Inner frame should be steel preferably.

 

[badaaim]

hmmmmm that is interesting. so the "standoff" would be the actual chassis with the outer panel as a back-plate to the motherboard as how a CPU cooler has a backplate?

With the vibration I am assuming from the CPU cooler? How much would it affect in general?

Up until now I had decided to use PEMSERTS which in overall would provide 1.6 mm clearance but the chassis would be lined with cardboard sheet to prevent short. There should be enough clearance from the cutout to the back for m.2 and what not.

 

[Phuncz]

Yes something like that, but you'd have to figure out how thick the material of the inner frame needs to be so the CPU cooler backplate clears the outer panel. The chance for resonating noise is high if you either don't leave an air gap (1mm is plenty if sturdy and precise) between the cooler backplate and a case component.