Where does one get black oxide M3 button head bolts (3mm is the established length for PCs if I'm not wrong) and M3 taps in the United States? I'm sure motherboards and optical/hard drives use M3 but are there any other sizes I should be looking at, or should I go with M3 everywhere? Thanks
For the extra headache of Metric stuff here, you might want to just grab a 6-32 tap and use the more available US bolts. If you're dead set on M3, any local ACE hardware has or can get metric bolts and taps. If the don't have them in their 'wall O' drawers' ask and they have a catalog and quick order system. john
Oh dear. I already have M3 standoffs for the board, so I thought of going M3 all over. Hang on, what about drive mounting? Isn't 6-32 incompatible with M3? How would 6-32 bolts go hold in M3 threaded holes? I guess I'll order 6-32 button heads anyway, and a 6-32 tap.
AFAIK, PCs use 6-32. Only Lian-Li use M3 for case panels etc. #I'll double check for you when I get home in a couple of hours, though.
All the motherboard standoffs I've ever used (basically Cooler Master along with some generic crappy cases) were M3 on the female threads on the standoffs.
Little late here, but www.mcmaster.com has pretty much anything you could ever possibly want in terms of fasteners.
M3(x0.5 pitch), 5mm length (recommended on many optical drive casings) 6-32 (UNC I believe), length varies
my dvd drive uses M3. my radiator USED TO use M3. now it uses 8-32 thanks to me. try mcmastercarr they have everything. or ebay. you can often find very good deals on a box of screws for a cheap price.
I got the tap and bolts from McMaster. Thanks for all the input guys. Now could anyone tell me where to get motherboard standoffs?
are all M3 socket head (cap or button) screws only ~5.5mm diameter ? -- just got some MDPC ones, and the head seems a little small to me also, startech stonesurd? http://www.startech.com/product/itemlist.aspx?product_desc=standoff&search=Search
i not sure where to get standoffs but DO NOT get them from Performance PCs. I bought some and they werent even standoffs and they were different sizes too so I had to cut them down and drill new holes and tap them. try a local computer repair store?
Mine have 5.5mm heads as well. By the way - how long did it take for your MDPC package to arrive? I just ordered some sleeving and heatshrink a few days ago and was wondering about the delivery time. Thanks for the Startech link too +rep I'm new here, so I have no idea what/where the local computer repair stores are.
8days, germany to australia guess i'll have to live with the screws , measured some lian-li ones and they're 6.6
I don't think the DIN or ISO standards define a socket head M3 bolt. The standards define sizes 4,5,6,8,10,12,14,16,20,24 and 30. Therefore, the manufacturers can come up with the dimensions for other sizes as they want. A head diameter of 5.5mm follows the trend of head sizes when compared to the standardized bolts. A 6.6mm bolt is the rogue one.
Mcmaster-Carr has standoffs as well. In fact, I'm pretty sure they have EVERYTHING!!! Something like this perhaps? http://www.mcmaster.com/#98952a001/=49woyb
Dear god, they really do have everything! I'm going to pay way more attention in future. Plus, their shipping is insanely fast. I got my M3 buttonheads, M3 tap and handle in one day.
