Printrbot Simple Ribbon Cable Brackets

thingiverse

I adore my Printrbot Simple, but persistent shorts and breaks in the wires running to the extruder plagued me due to repeated cyclic bending. The inventive brackets I designed mount D-Sub connectors at the Printrboard and the extruder, allowing seamless connection with a ribbon cable. This eradicates the frustration of dissecting the wire bundle to identify the break point. In the event that the ribbon cable wears out, a fresh one can be simply plugged in. Instructions These parts were designed to mount 25-pin D-subminiature connectors near the control board and the extruder on my Printrbot simple, thus replacing the conventional wire bundle with a durable ribbon cable. On the extruder side, I engineered an alternate component that would also cool the extruder, a fan mount (see Sources), allowing me to attach it with M3 screws directly into the extruder stepper. Conversely, the control board bracket has corner holes aligned with the zip tie holes on my Printrboard, enabling the attachment using identical zip ties. I carefully severed the wires roughly halfway through the bundle and soldered the cut ends into the DB25 connectors, meticulously ensuring accurate pin assignment alignment between each connector. To secure them, I used a female solder cup DB25 at the Printrboard and a male solder cup DB25 at the extruder. However, it is irrelevant which type you install where. For best results, be sure to route the wires through the bracket before applying solder or regret that crucial oversight. You will observe that employing smaller connectors, like 15-pin D-subminiature plugs, might have yielded more efficient results since there are fewer than fifteen wires involved in this configuration. But, being the pragmatist I am, DB25s were what lay conveniently within reach, thus rendering their utilization. Alternatively, you can always revise and recreate the bracket using DB15 connectors if such items happen to be available on your workshop. Each DB25 connector is fixed onto its printed bracket using 4-40 screws coupled with complementary nuts. As a final touch, I fashioned an extensive 25-conductor ribbon cable approximately twenty centimeters long with crimp-on DB25 fittings, designed specifically for smooth connectivity and trouble-free workflow.