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dektronics / printalyzer-timer

F-Stop enlarging timer and print exposure meter
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Improve wire-to-board cable connection for the meter probe #28

Closed dkonigsberg closed 1 year ago

dkonigsberg commented 3 years ago

The process of attaching the cable to the PCB is currently quite difficult and time consuming. One must manually strip all the conductors, carefully feed them into the holes, and solder them in place. This is a bit fiddly to get right, and soldering for too long can melt insulation.

Using Molex/JST type connectors can work, but the tooling to do this easily may not be available. So this option may have to be a backup choice.

They do also apparently make IDC-type connectors that could be used for this purpose, such as these product lines from AVX: https://www.avx.com/products/connectors/wire-to-board/idc-connectors-14-28-awg/

These IDC-type connectors may end up being the easiest option, if they work out.

er99a commented 2 years ago

I think RJ12 connectors on both sides and a corresponding RJ12 cable would do the trick. https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/Molex/95501-6669?qs=%2Fha2pyFadugV2A5BPNR00ynWIu0qkvzsItMec%2FtNuEY%3D and https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/Bel/BC-66SS007F?qs=%2Fha2pyFaduhlW2tpeoKyPrAYLA5tkcxNQ%252BAuMlRUz2SIWBKEfnNHgQ%3D%3D might be some candidates.

Best regards Eugen

dkonigsberg commented 2 years ago

The problem with using an RJ12 connector is that the connector itself is not very robust, as the plastic tab can break off. Also, the cable itself is typically unshielded. If I went to that sort of cable, then I'd probably need to change the whole wire protocol to be more robust against noise (and might worry more about emissions).

I picked mini-DIN for this application because it is still a very common/standard/cheap type of cable, but the connector isn't likely to break and it has shielding. Its basically the same type of cable you'd use for a PS/2 mouse or keyboard, only its captive on the end of the meter probe.

Regardless, the purpose of this ticket was to find a way to make it faster/easier to attach the end of the cable that's permanently secured inside the meter probe.

dkonigsberg commented 1 year ago

Fixed for the Rev B prototype with Kyocera AVX 009175003001006 IDC connectors, which let the captive cable wires get attached with a simple punch-down tool.