When building hardware, we usually focus on the exciting parts: the PCB, firmware, sensors, 3D prints, laser-cut panels, and the final demo. But many hardware projects quietly depend on something much more boring the humble screw.
In this talk, I hope to explore how screws, standoffs, inserts, nuts, washers, spacers, and mounting holes affect whether an hardware project can actually be built by someone else. A project might have its KiCad files, firmware, and enclosure files online, but if the fasteners are undocumented, hard to source, or badly chosen, the project becomes much harder to reproduce.
Here’s a brief overview of what I’ll cover:
Why screws and fasteners should be treated as part of the hardware design.
How choices like M2, M2.5, M3 screws, brass standoffs, self-tapping screws, and heat-set inserts affect the final build.
The challenges of using fasteners with PCBs, 3D printed enclosures, and laser-cut acrylic.
Common mistakes like stripped plastic, cracked acrylic, badly aligned holes, and missing fasteners in the BOM.
How better documentation of fasteners can make open hardware easier to build, repair, and share.
The goal of this talk is to show that hardware is not just about electronics and files, but also about the small physical details that hold the project together.
