Author Topic: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable  (Read 25204 times)

JustFalling

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Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« on: August 14, 2017, 12:08:49 PM »
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!


Julia Truchsess

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2017, 12:16:47 PM »
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.
"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." - JC Watts Jr

evietron

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2019, 10:56:50 PM »
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.

Julia Truchsess

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2019, 08:18:45 AM »
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.
"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." - JC Watts Jr

evietron

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2019, 06:24:34 PM »
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/

PeterA

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2020, 05:22:56 AM »
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?

Julia Truchsess

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2020, 10:20:23 AM »
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.
"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." - JC Watts Jr

PeterA

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2020, 06:17:25 PM »
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.

Julia Truchsess

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2020, 06:22:55 PM »
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.
"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." - JC Watts Jr

PeterA

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2020, 07:21:23 PM »
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?

Julia Truchsess

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2020, 08:34:36 PM »
Makes sure pin 1 goes to pin 1 and you didn't get it swapped around somehow?
"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." - JC Watts Jr

Odie

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2021, 03:40:28 AM »
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:
    ---
---|  |------
| 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!

FoRo

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2022, 03:20:44 PM »
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.


Odie

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2022, 04:39:46 AM »
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!

FoRo

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Re: Replacing a Zortrax Extruder Cable
« Reply #14 on: August 18, 2022, 10:16:24 PM »
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. :)