Wires and connectors
Contents
Wires and Connectors
Power
The power and communications board will need to be directly connected to the power supply. You will need to wire power to each of your boards from your power and communications board. The maximum AWG size for the power connectors is 16AWG, although we recommend 14AWG.
Stepper Motors
One very elegant solution for stepper motors is to remove the 4 pin Molex power connectors used to power hard drives and such from the power supply, and attach them to your motors to then plug into each board. This way, you only need buy the receptacles (or harvest them too from a computer) and the connectors are easy to attach (solder them to your wire.)
We also recommend a maximum AWG size of 16AWG for these wires, with 14AWG being ideal. If you use the same type for both, its much simpler. =)
Signal Wires
These wires don't carry much current, so they can be smaller than the other wires. You can usually find these wires pretty easily. Cables such as ethernet and phone cords contain multiple pairs of wires that are perfect for carrying signal... thats what they do! Simply crimp/solder on connectors to these and you're ready to go.
Others
- Thermistor
- Extruder Heater
- Extruder Motor
Connectors
The connectors for each board are specified in each board's part list.
Suppliers
EVERYWHERE
Most hardware stores, hobby shops, and electronics places sell wires, but they will often be pricey and/or marked up. YMMV.
USA
MECI - Liquidation Outlet is friendly, has good wire selection, and a lot of other useful things too.
