Crimping The Connectors

So this is a question for the community. I do not have a climate controlled shop and it gets cold in the winter but not below the safe operating temperature for my Shapeoko XXL Pro. So I get temperature swings and I think there are uneven expansion contraction issues that occur at wire harness connectors. What are the pros and cons of removing all of the connectors in the wire harness, for all motors and sensors, and crimping every connection with appropriate sized crimps?

I dont see any problem with doing that. Just have the correct tool to extract the connector from the plastic connectors and use the proper crimping tool.

However I have learned to not fix what is not broken. Unless you are having issues I would leave things alone. When you start removing connectors you run the risk of wearing the plastic parts that hold the connectors in place. So just use caution if you are going ahead.

A quick story about a friend that worked on blood analyzers. He was a perfectionist and found a switch with a roller on the end of it that was not quite in the center. The switch worked just fine but he tried to bend the actuator to be in the center. The switch actuator arm broke off and it took 3 days to get a new switch. The hospital was down for the 3 days and could not analyze blood samples so of course they were mad. So again do not fix what aint broke.

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The connectors should afford a reliable connection at any temperature range folks are likely to be willing to be w/ and monitor the machines — if you have an instance of them not working reliably, please let us know at support@carbide3d.com

The only reason that there are so many connectors is to afford users the convenience of a pre-assembled wiring harness — if you’re willing to source and run shielded wiring through the drag chain and to purchase the correct tool(s) for crimping the Micro-fit pins/connectors and to learn (or already know) how to use them, then there’s no reason not to do this, aside from the expense and inconvenience.

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I had issues with the connectors and even after harness and motor replacements the problems still popped up. I cut out all the connectors for the Z motor and limit switch and did several on the other connectors. I didn’t use crimp connectors I soldered all the connections and then heat shrink tube over each wire connector.

These are small wires so using a soldering stand to hols the wires while soldering would make it easier. you should also tin the wires before making the connection and be sure to place the heat shring sleeve on before soldering.

Oh I just saw William Adams post while I was typing this. I would like to have a harness that is the full length It will reduce problems. I even noticed a different sound from the motors after doing the modification.

Im sure modifying the harness voids the warranty at least on the wiring and the associated motor but I chose to do this to correct a problem and it worked for me. In my past line of work I did a lot of wiring repairs on small low voltage systems and for me it was not a problem doing this.

Anthony

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I bought, and built a Folgertech FT-5 printer, that the wiring harness was prebuilt without connectors. It was a pain in the butt to run it through all of the cable chain, but in the end, I didn’t have one problem that I could attribute to the wiring harness.

Hi WillAdams

Do you know if Carbide offers, or plans to offer a complete wiring harness without connectors that would have to be ran through the chain? I have had a lot of issues in this area primarily with the Z-Limit switch. I have not done anything that would void the warranty and I really do not want to crimp or solder anything. Carbide support has been wonderful helping me with these issues and I have kept the machine running. Just a little bit terrified that the machine is going to break itself and I would probably cry if that happened even though I am a grown man.

If you have trouble w/ your machine, contact us at support@carbide3d.com — it should be possible to arrange the stock wiring harness so that the connectors don’t move (I did this on my machine using a bunch of zip ties) and connections stay secure so long as the connectors are all correct.

I have zip ties that came with the machine. I used some of them. Would you be willing to send me pictures of how you did this with your machine?

See:

for how I did it on my SO3 — on the Pro it was that and more of the same — the big thing is, secure the wires exiting the drag chain, then constrain the connectors so that they don’t move, but also so that they’re not touching — you want to be able to feel each after the machine has been on for a while so as to determine if they are heating up due to a faulty connection.

Please disregard my last request. I thought I had opened the full post and had not and only saw the one picture. I see all the pictures now and thank you.

Okay sorry for the back and forth. I have done this for the wires exiting the chain. Can you send me a picture of what you mean for the connectors. Some of the pictures in the post the connectors look different than mine. They are white and mine are black. I know what you mean about feeling for heat which I do often now but I want to make sure there is no movement at the connector.

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