Electronic and tools sourcing - helping a begginer

LowRider CNC Advice
1

Hi guys,

so I should have all parts for my future Lowrider but before I buy anything stupid when it comes to electronics tools (I should have all the parts), I wanted to ask a couple of questions.

  1. What wires are commonly used for extending the stepper motors and connecting end stops?

  2. Is there any sort of crimping kit that you’d recommend for making connections? I got soldering machine but not crimping tools for these types of things (only RJ type for networking).

If I have missed where this is being discussed, please point me there.

Thank you very much.

Ivan

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2

The connections are JST, and from someone who has fingers like hotdogs, those tiny damn things are insane. BUT! There is a fantastic option and its:

The connections are really good quality, and for the price, its seriously good value. Plus, its one less thing that you have to troubleshoot. I ordered them with my kit, and forgot they were in there, so I was half way through testing my own home made extensions and having issue with one of my Y axis steppers, and found the wire extenders still in the box lol.

Installed them, and it worked perfect.

So if you want to DIY, you just need JST connections and a suitable crimper, which is anywhere from $30 to $100US-ish, depending on how good a quality piece you get. Amazon has a heap of crimping piece sets for only a few bucks, they come with a whole heap of connectors.

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3

Hey Andrew,

thank you very much for the response.

As I am not from the US, I am unable to order the components directly from V1E. I did get the Jackpot board from him and wanted to get the extenders and Z plate, but they weren’t on stock at the time and I had friend in the US that I sent it to.

So I am stuck with the DIY option.

Would you have any concrete products / kits that you could link to me please? So I can have a look.

Thank you very much.

4

I have a kit similar to this:

PEBA Micro Connector Pin Crimping Tool Kit, 28 Types JST-PH 2.0mm/JST-XH 2.5mm/Dupont 2.54mm Connectors and Cimper, AWG32-20 Crimper Tool for JST(XH/SM/PH/SYP), Dupont, KF2510, Molex, AMP EI Series

and it has worked well for me

Some people don’t like that style of crimper, and prefer the iCrimp IWS-3220M instead

then you would need to buy the connector kits separately

Edit:

This is the one I actually bought, but the one above is a bit better value I think, since I had to buy a separate stripper for smaller wires, and a separate dupont connector kit

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5

This is one example through Amazon (Although the link is in Australia, you might have to find something similar where you are):

6

Where are you from? So we can look up options near you, but you can order from the us, just sent it to a shipping forwarder (as i do)

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7

Thank you very much guys. I will go through all of it and make some decisions.

What about cables? How are these cables that connect small electronics called? So I can maybe buy it with some crimping tool?

@CesarH I am located in the EU - Czechia, so I am not sure how does the forwarder work here.

8

I’ll say also, personally I’ve never had a good time with ratcheting crimpers. This style has made me super fast and super reliable and crimping my wires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AVVO7K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For wires I used 22 gauge cctv wires (link below), but I’ve seen people use telephone wire too which is brilliant might be 24 gauge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PJRHPQ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

9

Crimping is easy when you have the correct, super expensive oem crimping tool.

On the other hand you can buy flyleads with the ends perfectly crimped for pennys from aliexpress and I can solder far easier.

For extending the wires any 28 gauge wire will do. I think you can buy stepper cables from the usual online suspects.

10

The one you linked looks like a ratcheting crimper… am I missing something?

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11

I ordered the cables from Ryan as well though I am in the EU and it was the best money I’ve ever spent, I just hate crimping. :smiley:

12

Just me being a big dummy and accidentally linking the one’s I absolutely hate haha

this is the right one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AVVO7K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1