Wiring kits - poll
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Hi! We are running a poll over on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Duet3D/status/1684881599794704385?s=20
Thought it would be useful to replicate it here:
We're looking at how to make it easier to upgrade your printer to harness the benefits of
@Duet3D
products and #RepRapFirmware. One request is for custom wiring kits. -
@T3P3Tony I voted other, because if I would plan an controller-upgrade on these printers, I'd want free choice where to place controller, PSU and display.
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@T3P3Tony I'd vote for premade toolboard to distribution board wiring harnesses. I get that you can make your own with solder sleeves etc, but getting cables the right spec and making them up with the provided tails is quite difficult and definitely time intensive. A plug & play solution in standard lengths would be soooo nice and plays to the whole CAN connected ethos
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@engikeneer the question we would need to answer is how long those cables would need to be? 1m, 1.5m? Too long and there would be a lot of excess.
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@T3P3Tony for my e3D TC, they needed to be about 85-90cm, so a 1m cable could be fine (I could simply mount the distribution board 10cm lower if I was worried about the excess). As it is, I made them too long anyway and have just tidied the excess as I was too worried about having to remake them, and wanted plenty of extra for strain relief and to safeguard for future mods.
I would say that majority of printers would want a similar 1m length (most standard corexy's are roughly 50cm cubes). You could also offer a larger size for large-format machines, but I'm not sure how much of a market share they would be. I could even see this being sold as part of a Duet3 upgrade bundle for a TC???
Generally I would much prefer to buy an over-long cable and tidy away the excess, or cut it down (that's half the work, plus I don't have to acquire extra wire, and I can put the joint wherever I want in the cable), than have to make my own. I'm not a fan of solder sleeves, especially on dynamic cables as they are asking for fatigue problems, even if you strain relieve it well. Finding 4 core twisted pair flexible wire at a reasonable price is also not easy considering you only want a few meters - most seem to be available in 25m reels min.
I appreciate I am probably slightly biased as I have had to rewire all mine after I started having intermittent CAN disconnects due to an issue with one of the solder sleeves... Though I will say I have seen a few people on here have issues with CAN comms that have been down to wiring issues which an OTS solution may have helped.
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@KenW yes this is a good point, maybe pair it with a upgrade guide that included other common upgrades so the controller was in the right place, etc.
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@engikeneer fair point. I will look into 1m cables for the tool distribution board.
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I think the first four replies in the twitter thread more or less summarize my take. The Ender audience is not as likely to spend almost as much on a controller as they did on their entire printer (if it was one of the cheaper varieties), and if they do want to upgrade they will likely go with the cheaper options offered enabled through Klipper. The Bambu printers could be an interesting option for those who are fed up with Bambu's lack of ethics and who want to open up their printers, although that audience might be limited. I'm unsure about the Prusa audience, but I´d guess that the reach will be limited.
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For the MK3, the Prusa Bear upgrade was based on Duet hardware for the longest time, but I haven't kept track. Maybe @gregsaun could comment. It would be a nice idea to have a fitting loom for that if its still current.
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@engikeneer I agree that 1m long cables would cover the general use case. That being said a while back a user on the forum found
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/jst-sales-america-inc/04ZR-8M-P/1678835This let me get rid of the solder sleeves and make cleaner wiring for my toolboards. Maybe an option for the 1LC kits would be to include these connectors as they are very easy to work with and work great.
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@0nn0 said in Wiring kits - poll:
and if they do want to upgrade they will likely go with the cheaper options offered enabled through Klipper.
Those options are only cheaper for users who already have the Pi, e.g. because they are already running Octoprint.
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@Sindarius I wish I knew of these two weeks ago...
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@dc42 I disagree. A SKR E3 V3 will set you back around €44,50, and now that the Raspberry Pies are no longer held back by production problems, that will add only €46 for a RPi 4 1GiB, totalling €90,50. That is less than the 126,44 for a mini 5+ on sale, discounted from the ~€150 it normally costs. (cheapest I could find).
N.B. All prices are from vendors inside the EEA to normalize for imports and are ex shipping.
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Why replacing the harness? From a user perspective, a duet board with same form factors and connectors will provide a better experience and with at lower cost and effort.
Have you considered this approach? It can be actual custom Duet 3D boards, or even a standard Duet 'module' with a printer specific carrier or extender PCB with connectors.
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As a side note, users in these market will benefit from a simpler configuration. Something close to an .ini file where the entire initial configuration is specified with good organization and variable names (the Suet Object Model is a good start) rather than criptic gcode commands.
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@Herve_Smith Yes, I have bought tons of stuff from them. They are a bit slow in responding, but in the end I do get the support I need from them. So no bad experiences on my end, and that includes a couple of support requests, not just the one. I think they're not stellar, but certainly not bad. About a 7/10.
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@oliof How many bear kits have been made? Is it relevant in the larger picture in terms of numbers sold?
