PCB edge connector V2000 Video 2x4

thingiverse

Solution for a common issue affecting ancient V2000 VCR machines. PCB edge connectors are failing due to plastic shrinkage, which causes splitting of the connector bodies and loss of electrical connection. Usually, this separation problem can be resolved reliably by wrapping them with cable ties, but in some cases (like those pictured here) the damage can be beyond repair, requiring a new body. I had been thinking about modeling this connector body for a long time but managed to use the cable tie solution until now, so laziness won out. Also, for modeling, I needed a cross-section of one segment to see what's inside - which meant that the connector was definitely unusable. As I wasn't sure if this level of fine detail was possible to produce on an FDM machine, I shelved the idea. This time fate provided me with a connector that had broken exactly in the middle of a segment, so everything fell into place. I had to solve the issue; I already had the cross-section prepared, so I fired up my Fusion workstation and... experimenting began. It was immediately obvious that the standard 0.4mm nozzle wouldn't be sufficient. At this point, I thought an SLS machine was needed, so I checked the price of fabricating a 12-pin connector at Shapeways and found it... expensive. Especially if I wanted colors as well... So, it was time to change my nozzle size for the first time since I got into 3D technology... Until now, I had managed to create everything with standard 0.4 nozzles, so I never experimented with other sizes. I swapped the nozzle to a 0.2mm one and after some minor modifications in Cura, I had the first usable piece in my hand - just to discover that layer adhesion was practically non-existent... So, I had to experiment more to find the right settings for this small nozzle. But at the end, I got the replacement connectors. These are designed for VCR 2x4 machines made by Grundig at the beginning of the '80s, but maybe they used these very same connectors in other products from that era... who knows? At the end, I managed to create a parametric model in Fusion with only one parameter to be specified: the number of pins. Enjoy and keep alive these nice VCRs.