[volt-nuts] plastic caps on 3458A reference board

[Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd)]

On 28 January 2015 at 18:56, Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com> wrote:

> The problem is that an LTZ1000 (or LM399) runs hot enough that most plastics
> you find lying around won't stand up to it for very long (some of them melt
> almost immediately when you power it up).  This is true even of
> polycarbonate, which is one of the most durable common plastics, and is why
> the original caps were made from polysulfone.
>
> Unfortunately, it also means that replacements may be hard to make by 3D
> "printing," since the process depends on melting the base material.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Charles

Is there any reason this cap is not made of metal? If its purpose is
to restrict airflow by convection, metal will do. Copper sheet can
easily be soldered to make something that would restrict airflow and s

If you want thermal insulation, then PTFE rivited to a metal shield
would provide a plastic that will not melt, and the metal would keep
it in place, as its hard to form a box out of PTFE. It is not an easy
material to glue, but nuts/bolts/rivits will work.

Dave