Maybe Teknic could offer up “cable kits” for those of us who are the DIY type. A bag of connectors and pins for each cable and you order the length of cable you need. A simple diagram is all you need to make your own cables. It’s really not rocket science after all.
That would be of great help!
Dave C.
Grizzly G0678 Mill ,CNC conversion with Acorn. G4004G Lathe, Mach 3 conversion to Acorn.
carboncymbal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:06 pm
A photo of the Sabre-Sabre cable, the inner wire insulation has been cut 30-50% of insulation thickness
IMG-6234.jpg
2 pin molex mini fit cable for connecting +24v to power4-Hub. Insulation cut to copper.
IMG-6239.jpg
Molex mini-fit jr cable, strain relief crimp does not contact a minimum of 180 degrees of the insulation as recommended by Molex.
IMG-6236.jpg
I can honestly say those pics do not represent the products that I am used to purchasing from them, or would be happy with.
ShawnM wrote: ↑Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:04 am
Just for the record you don’t need to spend $400 on a crimp tool to customize your own cables if anyone is interested in doing so. I agree that excess coiled up cable is not the right approach. Custom cables made to length is the proper way to build a machine. I have a crimp tool that crimps Molex mini-fit junior connectors that I paid about $55 for from Digikey. The crimp tool, pins and extraction tool (for taking the cable apart) can be bought for under $85 and you can cut your cables to length. Sure the $55 tool doesn’t crimp both wire and insulation in one crimp, it’s a two crimp process, but it does the same job. I just didn’t want those who wanted to custom cut their cables think you needed to spend a fortune to do so.
Maybe Teknic could offer up “cable kits” for those of us who are the DIY type. A bag of connectors and pins for each cable and you order the length of cable you need. A simple diagram is all you need to make your own cables. It’s really not rocket science after all.
Shawn, some of us have experience doing many do not. Buying the right crimpers, selection the right size pins and the expense isn't for a lot of DIYers.
I would also caution that some of the import crimpers do not do "quite as good a job" as the high dollar crimpers.
Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
Maybe Teknic could offer up “cable kits” for those of us who are the DIY type. A bag of connectors and pins for each cable and you order the length of cable you need. A simple diagram is all you need to make your own cables. It’s really not rocket science after all.
I thought they (Teknic) do better than most mfgr's by posting the housing, connector and crimp part numbers. A simple task for the user to purchase from numerous online vendors in the quantity required.
That's the "Y" part of DIY. Crimpers, of course, are a different matter. Few folks can justify the cost of the branded, connector specific, crimp tools for each of the connectors required, so I would suspect that some generic knock-offs would be in play.
For my own experience, I use them often enough to justify the cost of "the right tool for the job". A few of them have a bit of a $ting. Especially the ~$400 Molex Sabre connector (center)
martyscncgarage wrote: ↑Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:39 am
Shawn, some of us have experience doing many do not. Buying the right crimpers, selection the right size pins and the expense isn't for a lot of DIYers.
I absolutely agree it's not for everyone, I just didn't want those who have the skills and ability to think it costs $400 or more to do this.
Here's a $58 Molex brand crimper that will do the job, again, not as fancy as Gary's $400 crimper.
Are we overthinking this? In reality, there are only three cables that need to be shortened:
(1) the power cable to the IPC-5, (IPC35-CABLE110)
(2) the 24vdc cable to HUB4 (CPM-CABLE-M2P2P-120)
(3) the power cable from IPC-5 and HUB4 (PC-SBR-72)
The power cable has three wires, the 24VDC cable has two wires, and the PC-SBR-72 cable has two wires.
I'm assuming that you would NOT shorten the power cables from the HUB4 to the motors. If they are too long, they can be arranged outside the enclosure instead of coiling them up inside the enclosure.
The following items from AutomationDirect are what I use: DIN rail (DN-R35S1), terminal blocks (DN-Q12-A), end covers for terminal blocks (DN-QEC12), screw-down end-stops (DN-EB35MN) and marking tags (DN-QL100). Those items will be enough for several systems. I also use ferrules for all stranded wires (see AutomationDirect part number V30AE000735 to see what I'm writing about and then check EBay or Amazon for a low priced wire ferrule kit that has various sized ferrules and a crimping tool. I first bought ferrules and tools form FerrulesDirect. They have a large assortment of ferrules and crimping tools. Now I buy ferrules from AutomationDirect or from FerrulesDirect; it just depends on whether I order $100+ from FerrulesDirect to save on shippig, or whether I combine ferrules with other parts totaling $50 to get free 2-day shipping from AutomationDirect.
The initial cost for the parts may seem high, but you'll have enough parts for other projects. I typically use 50-100 terminals per enclosure, using both blue and gray screwless terminal blocks to help to identify the circuits. Regular screw-type terminal blocks are available in many colors to make identifying circuits easy.
The actual parts needed, to connect the three cables listed at the top of this post, cost about $10.
Clay,
Thanks for taking the time to upload the pictures. They are very valuable and unfortunately, you are correct.
The wire jacket has been nicked with a razor and is unacceptable. In addition, the picture of the Molex terminal appears to be the wrong terminal for that wire gauge. The crimped terminal should "hug" the wire around its circumference and the "ears" should be heart shaped. This one looks like it has an "aortic valve stenosis".
Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention. The manufacturing manager is already looking into this and I am certain it will be addressed asap.
As Marty said, we can't fix a problem if we don't know about it. That said, I have been to more than one restaurant (not recently though) where I said everything was "fine" but never went back (so I am also guilty of this at times). I don't like to complain either but often addressing the problem is the only (or at least most efficient) way of getting a resolution. My apologies for the cable problems. We will strive to do better.
