Yes, but "press fit" implies a pretty strong push.
Maybe a push fit is better, although imprecise.
Temperature will matter. The failure mechanism is stress cracking. Only Delrin is reliable in such setups.
Joe
Tool for melting plastic stub fixing?
Jan 19, 2026
Last reply: 5 months ago
25 Replies
We really don't know what the OP is doing.
John Larkin Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center Lunatic Fringe Electronics
Yeah. I've seen enough to know that the original proposal was iffy because getting plastics to work that way requires pretty deep knowledge of the properties of plastics.
As others have said, probably best to use metal screws.
Joe
Fixing standard keyswitches to a PCB.
They are made with plastic pegs for mechanical fixing, I'm just punting for a tool to "fix" them. More d-i-y than mass production, but a large number to do and I want them to be reliable.
The plastic properties are unknown, but inspection suggests "melting" them is the standard method. Screws aren't an option.
The glue gun idea sounds right.
John Larkin Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center Lunatic Fringe Electronics
I think the dowels are just for alignment, I've never seen them staked. but I've only looked in about 10 different keyboards.
But yeah if they are stakable then the switch datasheet should have the needed details (temperature and force needed)
Cherry's datasheets don't even have pad and hole drawings, Kailh's datasheet doesn't mention staking.
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