28 Jun
2012
28 Jun
'12
11:55 p.m.
On Thu, 28 Jun 2012, Glen Slick wrote:
As in a lot of situations using the proper tools makes
the job much
easier, although the proper tools can be crazy expensive if you buy
them at new list prices.
For assembling ribbon cables I picked up a 3M Scotchflex press setup
from eBay. The Mouser or Digi-Key list prices are something like
this:
3316 Universal Press, $1976
3458 Locator Plate Riser Block, $735
3443-94 Locater Plate, $741
I forget how much I paid for this setup. Probably somewhere around $75-$100.
I have some similar tooling (along with the rest of my ribbon cable tools)
and I'd say you got a heck of a deal. If you are patient, deals like that
turn up a couple times a year on eBay.
My first attempts at building 50-conductor cables with
header
connectors on one end and card edge connectors on the other to
interface between a Pertec tape drive and controller resulted in a few
broken connectors before I gave up and bought a proper press.
The wider the connector the more force required and the more likely you'll
break the alignment and retaining tabs without proper tooling. 10pin to
~30pin IDS connectors can be done in a small hand vice with flat jaws, but
wider connectors (~40pins and up) and "Blue Ribbon" [Centronics]
(Amphernol/T&B Ansley) type connectors of any size require proper tooling
to not damage them. The cheap D-shaped hand tools (non-ratcheting) can
work for one-off jobs, but after you press even 3-4 >30pin connectors with
one, your hands will be sore.
Ribbon cable is also expensive if you buy it at new
list prices. I've
bought new 100 foot boxes of 3M 1700 (rainbow twist), 3302 (rainbow
straight), and 3365 (grey) on eBay at prices I considered reasonable
per foot. If you only need to build a single cable that would be
expensive.
Indeed. I too have purchased cable this way, but for most people it would
be too expensive for a one-off 18"-30" cable.
Other than a proper press though, from personal experience I think the
single most important tool for making reliable ribbon cables is a proper
ribbon cable cutter with a sharp blade. If you cut ribbon cable with
scissors, the end will be ragged and the potential for shorts exists. It
/can/ be cut with a sharp razor blade or heavy xacto knife, but if you
need to make more than 1-2 cuts with narrow cable, the experience will
tend to be very frustrating.