Wire Management

[RJS100]

When I f built my enclosure for Acorn, I spent lots of time using aviation connectors for every input/output, stepper control wires etc. Over time, as the project grew, I have used every square inch of the side panels for connectors. I will need an additional half dozen input/outputs for an automatic tool changer that I am working on. With little space to spare, the only thing I can think of is to use an oversized cable gland and pass the half dozen or so wires through it. I am not really a fan of this but hoping someone may have a better idea. Any thoughts?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TS ... KZ08X&th=1

Thanks... Richard

[WesM]

Maybe something like this?

https://buttkereit.co.uk/products/des-c ... try-system

Seems like it would be pretty easy to make something similar on a 3d printer or mill if you have access to one.

What you described doing is similar to this though, they just have a fitting inside the gland to hold the cables in place.

https://www.amazon.ca/SCANSTRUT-Through ... B009SUHTS4

[ShawnM]

Use a brush plate as it allows you to pass whatever you need through it and it's very easy to add and remove cables. All those individual connectors is a HUGE waste of time and money in my opinion, not to mention you are adding in dozens of failure points. With a brush plate the cable and shield stay in one piece from end to end so less chance to induce noise in the system.

There are dozens of options out there but here's an example:
https://www.icotek.com/en-us/products/b ... /kel-bes-s

[suntravel]

I am using something like this made from aluminum stock and PU foam.

https://shopcentroidcnc.com/shop/cnc-ac ... in-relief/

Uwe

[cncsnw]

If you make something like the Centroid plate,
https://shopcentroidcnc.com/shop/cnc-ac ... in-relief/
as Uwe suggested, and make it from bare metal, then you can also use it to ground the shields of the signal cables as they enter.

[ignore the unsecured orange signal cable, that was temporary]

[RJS100]

Thanks for a host of great ideas! Unfortunately, I do not have the real-estate for these for this installation, but I will surely use them in the future.

For what it is worth, I agree with Shawn as I will never use aviation connectors again. I built this enclosure during COVID and had too much free time on my hands, probably soldered hundreds of connections and thankfully I have never had any issues. But surely... Never again.

[ShawnM]

Thanks for a host of great ideas! Unfortunately, I do not have the real-estate for these for this installation, but I will surely use them in the future.

For what it is worth, I agree with Shawn as I will never use aviation connectors again. I built this enclosure during COVID and had too much free time on my hands, probably soldered hundreds of connections and thankfully I have never had any issues. But surely... Never again.

I'm a "KISS" kinda guy, Keep It Simple Stupid. CNC systems are complicated enough all by themselves, why make it worse?

Crimp some ferrules on your wire, run it through the brush plate and insert them directly into Acorn. As Keith would say "Easy Peasy".

One more piece of advice, measure out everything for the proper size enclosure that you need for your build.........then buy the next biggest size. Words to live by.

[richardb15]

Maybe something like this?

https://buttkereit.co.uk/products/des-c ... try-system

Seems like it would be pretty easy to make something similar on a 3d printer or mill if you have access to one.

I like that concept, I think I'll be sorting out some 3D printed bits like that to mount/dismount my 4th/5th axes