Z-Temp Forum
Z-Temp Products => General Discussion => Topic started by: JustFalling on August 14, 2017, 12:08:49 PM
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A few months ago I switched from a rear-mounted spool to feeding filament from a dry box positioned over the printer (on top of a printer housing). Eventually the tension from the change kinked up my ribbon cable. I've since switched to using a ball bearing style system for the filament spools but the damage was done it seems. I tried to buy a replacement cable from Zortrax but they waited a week and then canceled my order, didn't even get an email about it. On top of this there is a 2 week lead time on the part plus however long it takes to ship. So my question is, has anybody tried using a regular ribbon cable on their Zortrax? With their service being so randomly unreliable I'd rather be able to replace the cable myself with parts I can just purchase online. I just don't know if this is a safe option. Thanks in advance for any advice you guys may have!
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Sure, it's very easy to make a ribbon cable using insulation displacement (IDC) connectors, all you need is a pair of scissors and a bench vise. There are many how-to videos on youtube, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUcdSSBDEEI
The critical part is making sure you get the polarity correct so that Pin 1 of one end is connected to Pin 1 at the other end. I really think that ribbon cable and IDC connector are much more robust than the flat cable and crimp connectors that Zortrax switched to. I'm still running the original ribbons that came with my printers three years ago.
A cable support like this one https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1784126 will help prolong its life.
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Wow, my extruder cable failed, and it's just 1 pin that doesn't have continuity anymore. I already replaced it once, so I'm going for the cheapo IDC connector!
On my M200, there is a cable that flips vertically from end to end then plugs into an adapter which makes it go right angle to the motherboard and flips it back vertically again.
Some pins are redundant, unfortunately not the ones at the corner, most likely to get pinched.
These are the 11 distinct pins when looking at the male plug end that connects into the extruder:
--
A B C DD EEE F G
H I C DDD EE J K
So you can see the ones in the middle are redundant.
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They're in parallel, yes, but not redundant per se. Because the ribbon cable conductors are small, several need to be paralleled to carry the heater current and its return. I've run IDC cables for years without problems, you just need to use one of the many strain relief designs that have been published so that the cable doesn't flex at the connector.
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Very cool. Turns out you don't even need the proprietary adapter, just a generic cable plugs right in. I'll make sure to add proper strain relief. I'll print out the one in a previous post in this topic. A few of these are nice too:
https://library.zortrax.com/project/zortrax-m200-v4-extruder-cable-holder-extreme/
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Hi, I know this topic has been covered but I am not clear on the details, if someone could explain that would be great. I was under the impression there were 20 pins in the extruder plugs and only some of them were replicated from one row to the next. So when I replace the cable does it need two ribbon cables as per original design or one heavier cable?
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I've never seen a setup with "two ribbon cables". If you're making your own with insulation-displacement connectors as mentioned above, you just need one length of 20-conductor ribbon cable. Paths that need a lot of current (power and heater return) are on multiple conductors within the cable so they can share the current load.
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Thanks for that, I understand how it works now. Just ordered the cable.. just for interest the Zortrax cable I have consists of two flat plastic cables with copper strips (10 on each cable) bound in a wrap...every strip is soldered individually to a pin...thanks again.
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IIRC those flat-cable conductors are not soldered, they're crimped, and that's the rub - those flat-cable crimps are not very robust. A properly-made IDC cable will last indefinitely if suitably strain-relieved.
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Hi all, thanks for the advice so far. I built a cable, fairly straightforward I thought....then I get the error message Please check main extruder cable and restart printer. checked everything and tried again. Same error message. So I thought maybe I did not get a good connection on the plugs, so I carefully cut them off and crimped new plugs on the cable. Same error message. Any thoughts?
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Makes sure pin 1 goes to pin 1 and you didn't get it swapped around somehow?
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Hi all, thanks for the advice so far. I built a cable, fairly straightforward I thought....then I get the error message Please check main extruder cable and restart printer. checked everything and tried again. Same error message. So I thought maybe I did not get a good connection on the plugs, so I carefully cut them off and crimped new plugs on the cable. Same error message. Any thoughts?
So, I just had a relatively new extruder ribbon cable die on me. Instead of buying a new $30 cable, I tried making my own using a 20pin IDC cable, and ran right into the same problem you did.
After messing around with this for the past two days, I've come up with a working solution. As it turns out, the m200's cable is a little unusual. With typical cables, you'd expect the pin layouts to be exactly the same at both ends of the cable. However, for the stock m200 cable, the pin rows are reversed!
What I mean is, if at end of the cable, pin layout is like this:
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---| |------
| 1 2 3 ... |
| 4 5 6 ... |
------------
At the other end of the cable, the layout would look like this:
---
---| |------
| 4 5 6 ... |
| 1 2 3 ... |
------------
This means, if you were trying to simply extend the length of the stock cable, or add something in the middle, as shown in Julia's posted picture, you can simply make sure pin 1 lines up with pin 1. But, if you're trying to replace the stock cable entirely, connecting the control board directly to the extruder breakout PCB board, you will have to cobble together something that reverses the pinout rows.
I've attached a picture of the little adaptor I kludged together. One end is two rows of jumper wires stuffed in 10 pin connector housings. The other end is plugged into the IDC cable with the rows reversed. I haven't put in any print time with this yet, but I was able to power up, load, and unload filament without issue.
Hope this info will be useful to somebody out there!
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Having problems finding that damn cable, looks like it's out of stock everywhere.
Was thinking in building my own, found a pretty cheap cable here.
https://www.amazon.ca/BLS-2-54mm-20-Pin-Connector-Extension/dp/B073QR4S2W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=20+pin+IDC+cable&qid=1660151300&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE1MldHTzg0V1oxVjcmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1MzUxNThQMU9BR1JFQUY3SVImZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDY5NzAzMjNON0pRRUE4V1kxQ0Ymd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
But need to understand more about those pin 1 to pin 1 connector, do any of you guys can create a diagram of how those need to be connected? Technically it is Pin 2 right? As I remember Pin 1 and Pin 10 are not connected on the original cable. Will come home and check the existing broken cable.
I'm good at IT but a bit confused with the electronics part.
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Hi there!
I've been using my DIY cable since my last post without issue. The print head actually heats up faster than the zortrax cable.
For the main body of the cable, I also used a 20 pin IDC cable like the one you've linked. If memory serves, I bought a length of cable and the 20 pin connectors separately. It's actually very straightforward to make a cable of the right length with the IDC connectors. I've also attached a photo of me testing out the cable before permanently installing the strange mess of a connector at the controller board side. It's not super complicated, really. It's just a connector that swaps the top and bottom row pins.
Good luck!
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I still dont get it. I've tried so many different combinations, but it still complains to check the cable. Let me take some pix of what I have and I'll layi it down to you so maybe you can point my mistakes. Uff, it's fun and frustrating at the same time, but I'm glad that I found a SOMEONE WHO IS WIILLING TO HELP. :)
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Thats what I have going. ive just isolated the rest of the pins.
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Hi there,
I've attached two diagrams to try to explain what needs to be done. Again, it's just switching the positions of the top row with the bottom row. Also, do take care to make sure the connect key/notch is matched up first. Your first photo looks like the keys might not be lining up.
IIRC, the printer won't stop complaining about a broken cable until you've connected all the pins. I don't think you can just test with 4 pins connected as you've attempted in the photo.
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Hi Odie,
Yes, I tried exactly that. I have not connected all the cables in my first picture bc it was just a practice run, I've switched over all the cables and connectors several times, I think where I made a mistake was the cable the wrong way. If you can see the pink line is on the left side of the cable, but it should be on the right side on the cable.
Based on your diagram I need to align the clipping pins to with the cable and the connector on the PCB board, AND theeeennn reverse the cables.
I will give it a try today and will let you know. once again that's for your help and prompt responses :)
Just to clarify, all the pins need to be reversed, there are not exceptions on any of the pins that need to stay not reversed?
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Yeah, all pins need to be reversed.
If you want to make double sure, you can always try to examine the connectivity of the original cable with a multimeter. =)
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Yesssss it worked, it was my mistake in the end (I practically made a reverse to a reverse cable lol. :) Thanks you sooo MUCH my friend.
Here is my final product, and the cables and connectors are not going anywhere :)
Now I'm facing a different problem, but I'm going to troubleshoot it, and make a new topic on the forum. :)
Thanks again for your help Odie.
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Glad you got it to work!
Btw, you might want to move the adapter to the main board side, under the printer enclosure. Since the print head is moving around so much, I wonder if putting the adapter there might cause it to fatigue and break over time.
If you have the adapter on the main board side, it wouldn’t get stressed from the movement and the most you might have to do is to replace the IDC cable, which much less work than assembling another adaptor.
=)
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Yes indeed, that was my plan all along, I've actually wanted to advice you to do the same :)
I'm just waiting for it to "settle" in with all that electrical tape so the pins would not move easily. I'll do that when my next issue will get resolved. I will post a new topic about it thus not flooding this particular discussion. Hopefully it will be helpful for all the other people who are looking for answers to a problem that I've had :)
Thanks again for your help.
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Hello everyone, I have just picked up a M200 for cheap with a broken cable and I am trying to make up the replacement. I initially misread this thread and thought that the connectors at either end were just flipped, and that unfortunately resulted in letting the magic smoke out of the z-temp module, which I should have waited to install after the base printer was working again. >:(
So after re-reading the instructions, my understanding is that each pair of pins are flipped. 1 -> 11, ... 10 -> 20 (as per attached image). So I took each pair and flipped them and confirmed that they are all correctly connected with a multimeter. The machine now boots with no magic smoke :) and I can turn the upper and lower fans on and off, but if I attempt to heat the nozzle or load/unload material then the machine reboots. Do you think that this is a wiring issue, or have I likely damaged the board with the first error?
Thanks in advance!
EDIT:
It just randomly started working! Perhaps one of the ends wasn't seated correctly. RIP Z-Temp, but happy I didn't kill the printer!
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I've attached two diagrams to try to explain what needs to be done. Again, it's just switching the positions of the top row with the bottom row. Also, do take care to make sure the connect key/notch is matched up first. Your first photo looks like the keys might not be lining up.
Im beggining to have issues with the ribbon cable, and its just so hard to get an original replacement. So Im thinking of making my own replacement cable.
As for the whole issue of pin numbering and switched rows.
Will flipping one of the cable heads do the job???? Check picture attached.
Edit: Upon further inspection, it would not only be necessary to flip it to get the right orientation of the connectors key, but actually to cross the cables before crimping them as to flip pin positions, check last picture attached, I believe this will achieve the desired result.
Second Edit: IT WORKS PERFECTLY!!!
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