Wiring effector I am building a metal kossel mini, and I'm about to wire the effector. I would like to create a connector between everything in the effector and the wires going to my controller (a Arduino Due with RADDS), so I can easily disconnect it. The question is: how many wires do I need, or more specifically: how many 'grounds' can I join? I have: -heater: 2 wires -thermistor: 2 wires -hotend fan: 2 wires -cooling fans: 2 wires -DC42 ir probe... 3 wires? If I didn't join any grounds I would have 11 wires, but I assume that the at least the fans have common ground..(?) and the heater, can I use the same ground? and the thermister? It's a variable resistor right? Is that wired between two pins, or between ground and 1 pin? And anyone know about the DC42 ir probe? I assumed it has ground, 5V and an output? So I could join the 5V with the 5V of the hotend fan (always on), and the ground with other ground? Then I would get: -ground 1 wire -heater: 1 wire (+ ground) -thermister: 1 wire (+ ground) -hotend fan: 1 wire (+ ground) -cooling fan: 1 wire (+ ground) -Dc42 ir probe: 1 wire (+ground + 5v from hotend fan) Then I would need only 6 wires. But I'm really unsure if I can do this. I can measure ofcourse if the grounds are connected, but I guess I'm not the first one who is trying to minimize wires so I thought I should ask first before experimenting and killing my arduino :P, and maybe there are other considerations that I don't know about. Second question; I remember Tom (Sanladerer) mentioning that ethernet cable can be good option, which has 8 wires, and I have a lot of that.I think he even said something about that it could handle the amps from the heater. Mine is 40 watts for 12 volt I think, so that's about 3+ amp. Any thoughts on that? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709518#msg-709518 Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:37:25 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709754#msg-709754 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709754#msg-709754
Moriquendi]]> Moriquendi Delta Machines Sun, 25 Sep 2016 07:59:21 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709738#msg-709738 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709738#msg-709738
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hercek
Probably because of low resistance MOSFETS with N channel are more common/cheaper. That would be my guess

Could be :) from my intuition it would make more sense to have common ground and switch the positive voltages. But now I think of it, I don't know any specific reason why it should be that way, so I guess the cheapest option won?]]> BramV Delta Machines Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:52:57 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709737#msg-709737 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709737#msg-709737
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dc42
All 3D printer electronics that I know of switch heaters and fans by connecting the positive power input directly to one side of the heater or fan and using a mosfet to ground the other side.
Probably because of low resistance MOSFETS with N channel are more common/cheaper. That would be my guess :)]]> hercek Delta Machines Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:46:46 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709736#msg-709736 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709736#msg-709736
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dc42
Async serial with opto isolators is what I had in mind, and that can be done using 3 wires. I guess RS422 is another possibility, and I'm open to other suggestions.
CAN?]]> hercek Delta Machines Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:42:02 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709680#msg-709680 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709680#msg-709680 github.com].

On the Duet WiFi we use TMC2660 drivers, which support up to 256x microstepping and are amazingly quiet. The older Duets only do x16 unless you wire alternative stepper drivers to the expansion connector.]]> dc42 Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 17:01:40 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709677#msg-709677 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709677#msg-709677
If you release this new hot-end board design, do you plan to make an update for the reprap firmware for RADDS as well? I seems like nobody is actively working on that fork anymore (says: terminated, [github.com]). The reason I got a due+RADDS instead of a duet is because I wanted to use the silent stepstick drivers (which work great by the way), and with the duet it didn't seem like I could replace the stepper drivers.]]> BramV Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 16:27:32 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709676#msg-709676 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709676#msg-709676
The opto isolators would be on the hot end board and would work with standard main board electronics.]]> dc42 Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 16:11:14 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709668#msg-709668 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709668#msg-709668
I'm afraid I do not know enough about electronics to have other suggestions. However, when you mention opto isolators, does that mean you could not use your board design on current controller boards like duet or ramps?]]> BramV Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 15:35:06 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709664#msg-709664 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709664#msg-709664
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BramV
So basically you suggest sharing the ground between hot-end fan, filament-fan and heater? Shame it's not 8 wires instead of 9, but I'll go for a 10-pin connector then.

It's actually the +12V or +24V wires that can be shared, but same idea.

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BramV
The board you describe seems like a good idea. "The number of wires to the hot-end is too damn high!" 3 signal wires, how are they used? How about 1 wire I2C?

It's not a good idea to mix power and signal grounds, especially when the heater is running with PWM. That rules out I2C and one-wire - also both of those are very susceptible to noise because of the passive signal pullup. Async serial with opto isolators is what I had in mind, and that can be done using 3 wires. I guess RS422 is another possibility, and I'm open to other suggestions.]]> dc42 Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 15:19:50 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709663#msg-709663 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709663#msg-709663
The board you describe seems like a good idea. "The number of wires to the hot-end is too damn high!" 3 signal wires, how are they used? How about 1 wire I2C?]]> BramV Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 14:50:38 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709559#msg-709559 Re: Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709559#msg-709559
The two fans and the hot end heater probably have the positive sides connected to +12 or +24V so you can share that wire. Therefore you need 3 wires for the IR sensor, 2 for the thermistor, and 4 for one heater and 2 fans. Total 9.

I've been thinking about manufacturing a small board that fits on the hot end to control the hot end temperatures and fans and to pass measurements back to the main electronics. My provisional design uses 2 power wires and 3 signal wires, and it would control up to 4 hot end heaters with no increase in the number of wires needed.]]> dc42 Delta Machines Sat, 24 Sep 2016 05:28:57 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709518#msg-709518 Wiring effector https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?178,709518,709518#msg-709518 The question is: how many wires do I need, or more specifically: how many 'grounds' can I join?

I have:
-heater: 2 wires
-thermistor: 2 wires
-hotend fan: 2 wires
-cooling fans: 2 wires
-DC42 ir probe... 3 wires?

If I didn't join any grounds I would have 11 wires, but I assume that the at least the fans have common ground..(?) and the heater, can I use the same ground? and the thermister? It's a variable resistor right? Is that wired between two pins, or between ground and 1 pin? And anyone know about the DC42 ir probe? I assumed it has ground, 5V and an output? So I could join the 5V with the 5V of the hotend fan (always on), and the ground with other ground? Then I would get:

-ground 1 wire
-heater: 1 wire (+ ground)
-thermister: 1 wire (+ ground)
-hotend fan: 1 wire (+ ground)
-cooling fan: 1 wire (+ ground)
-Dc42 ir probe: 1 wire (+ground + 5v from hotend fan)

Then I would need only 6 wires. But I'm really unsure if I can do this. I can measure ofcourse if the grounds are connected, but I guess I'm not the first one who is trying to minimize wires so I thought I should ask first before experimenting and killing my arduino :P, and maybe there are other considerations that I don't know about.


Second question; I remember Tom (Sanladerer) mentioning that ethernet cable can be good option, which has 8 wires, and I have a lot of that.I think he even said something about that it could handle the amps from the heater. Mine is 40 watts for 12 volt I think, so that's about 3+ amp. Any thoughts on that?]]> BramV Delta Machines Fri, 23 Sep 2016 18:44:40 -0400