Is it a problem for cMoy caps to touch?

[kellvyn]

I'm building a cMoy using Tangent's tutorial. In his "Tweaks" section, he mentions that one could use larger caps. I ordered 470uF Nichicon UHE's (UHE1E471MPD) for the power caps and .22uF Orange Drops (715P22452LD3) for the input caps. The orange drops are big, as Tangent warns. However, I still think that I can use his layout for the Radio Shack protoboard and fit everything in a Serpac H-65. I think I figured out how to bend the leads and arrange the caps on the board. But I see two potential problems:

1. The input and power caps for each channel will touch, or be pretty close to each other.
2. Each orange drop's leads will be in contact with the "body" of the cap.

Are either of these *actual* problems?

 

[FallenAngel]

Not a problem, just make sure the leads aren't touching anything.

 

[kellvyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a problem, just make sure the leads aren't touching anything.

That answers my question about #1. But each orange drop's pair of leads will touching the body of that cap. So the leads will be touching something. Do you mean that I should make sure none of the leads are causing a short circuit?

 

[FallenAngel]

As long as the leads don't touch anything conductive, you'll be fine. Just isolate them from the case (if metal) and each other.

 

[fzman]

Just make sure that the touching is consentual-- otherwise there could be litigation,

 

[Iniamyen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellvyn /img/forum/go_quote.gif That answers my question about #1. But each orange drop's pair of leads will touching the body of that cap. So the leads will be touching something. Do you mean that I should make sure none of the leads are causing a short circuit?

Look at where the leads connect to the case. They're already touching the body/case of the cap, so I don't see how this could cause a problem

 

[jageur272]

Yay for hot glue! When in doubt, it makes quite a handy insulator (for low heat appliances).

 

[kellvyn]

Thanks for the advice! My initial concern was that capacitors stored energy in magnetic fields, and so that might interact with another caps' or the signal in the lead. Then I realized that inductors do that, not capacitors. Oops.

@jageur272: that's a great tip.

 

[r_d]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellvyn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the advice! My initial concern was that capacitors stored energy in magnetic fields, and so that might interact with another caps' or the signal in the lead. Then I realized that inductors do that, not capacitors. Oops.

That's actually not too far off. Capacitors store energy in electric fields and can, theoretically, be affected by things they aren't in direct contact with. In practice, it really isn't something you need to worry about. The capacitance between two different capacitors is exceedingly small in comparison to the capacitance of the capacitor itself.