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Unread 28-01-2012, 09:56
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Re: Making PWM Cables

Quote:
Originally Posted by electroken View Post
We're making our own as well.

I really don't like the formed male contacts. We've gone a different route and are making our own using the female contacts and soldering 0.025" header pins into them prior to crimping. It takes some time doing this with 0.016" solder under magnification, but were getting stronger, straighter pins. Make sure you're using the right crimper and pull-test every pin.
If you are willing to solder each pin and do a bit of finishing work you can also use snap-able headers in either male or female format. Snap off a 2 - 3 - or 4 pin section solder wires and finish with heat shrink for a custom connector. You may need a small dab of epoxy in some situations to hold the pins better and produce a more rugged connector. The female version requires sacrificing one pin for each cut and some sanding or filing to produce a clean edge.

You can also epoxy three 14 pin lengths together and solder them to a piece of proto-board to build a digital I/O breakout board. Add other connectors and pins to build a custom connector that allows you to access the signals for testing without removing the PWM connectors, or to transition to some other type of connector to get away from PWM cables entirely. At least at that end.
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