Molex Microfit (or compatible) for the Smart Effector V2 or V3?
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I'm curious why the V3 still has a screw terminal instead of a Molex Microfit which seems to be the new 'standard' nowadays?
I have a Phaetus Rapido here and also some heater cartridges for my V6 and I'm hesitant to put it on because I'd have to cut the Microfit connector - is there a drop-in replacement Microfit connector that I could solder onto the V2 or V3 instead of the screw terminal block?
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@bberger it has previously been the case that hot end heater cartridges were typically supplied with very long leads. When using the Smart Effector, the wires need to be short. So having a Microfit connector on the Smart Effector would not have helped, you would have needed to cut the wires short and crimp a new plug on.
Now that E3D is supplying their Revo hot ends with short hot end wires, we will look at switching to a Microfit connector for the next production run.
It's unfortunate that removing pins from Microfit shells is very difficult without a very expensive tool; so when a crimp fails it is generally easiest to cut off and replace the entire connector.
Duet WiFi hardware designer and firmware engineer
Please do not ask me for Duet support via PM or email, use the forum
http://www.escher3d.com, https://miscsolutions.wordpress.com -
@dc42 it's not only E3D but also Slice Engineering, Phaetus, Bondtech and others from what I could find lately.
Maybe I didn't emphasize my question enough so it went under: is there a drop-in replacement Microfit connector I could use to solder on instead of the terminal? I tried searching for one, but there are like a gazillion different 2 pin Microfit connectors with solder pins.. could you maybe provide a part#?
PS: this was not a criticism, just a neutral question.
PPS: with the traces out of the way on Rev 3.0 - is there a chance for room for 16mm dia rigid mount holes for the Mosquito/Dragon/Rapido/Revo heatsinks?
If I wasn't so useless using KiCAD and using PCBWAY/JCLPCB I would gladly fiddle around and prototype myself
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Hi,
the same argument can be made for the 1LC toolboard as well. Not only for the heater & temperature sensor but maybe also for the VIN connector (if the current rating is sufficient). It would allow to minimize the different tools neded. They are a bit chunkier than what is on the toolboard right now, so that might be a downside...
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For the record, the tool to remove MicroFit 3 pins is digikey WM9937-ND. It works well once you figure out to use it. MicroFit are popular in 3D printers (e.g. Voron) and work well but I find them to be hard to figure out compared to ,for example, Molex KK.
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@bberger I'm curious how you mounted the Rapido on the effector if you wouldn't mind? I've got one here I'm trying to get situated myself!
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@bberger
This appears to be an appropriate one; looking at my spare Smart effector, it seems to be identical to the other microfit sockets.
https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/molex/0436500215/283461It also appears that the PCB was made using the Microfit footprint, as the screw terminal position also has the two locator holes for the plastic pins on the microfit socket!
The photos of the connector are better on the RS site, but they do not have stock:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pcb-headers/4476877 -
@rjenkinsgb thank you! I'll see if my local electronics shop can order them on demand.
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https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4948025 (printed in Sunlu PLA-CF, the 2 arms version, rock solid. You can use the provided screws with from the Rapido (there are 4pc 2.5mm screws for the rigid mount provided, just unscrew the groove mount)
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https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5140357 (Simon also made an upgraded version of the 2510 fan adapter that he shared with me privately, I'll ask him if I can pass it along)
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https://www.3djake.at/slice-engineering/mosquito-luefter?sai=4891&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmKiQBhClARIsAKtSj-mrD00z2sS_pM8kzlaT82m2MYagkfjA_ZKrHQ6rR0KlqUm9e0kcbPYaAla0EALw_wcB (used the original fan, same brand as E3D, for the Molex Mocrofit convinience)If you're coincidentally using the RHD fan duct - I'll publish a few variants for fan holders this afternoon that takes the offset of the rigid mount adapter into account and are a bit more stable than the "original" RHD for Smart Effector mounts.
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@bberger said in Molex Microfit (or compatible) for the Smart Effector V2 or V3?:
thank you! I'll see if my local electronics shop can order them on demand.
I've just ordered a few from Digikey, as I needed to order some parts for other jobs anyway.
(If anyone in the UK wants an odd one, you can have it as cost [83p] + the postage). -
@bberger thanks. I'm currently using an aluminum adapter I bought online because the thought of printed parts being responsible for centering the hotend bothers me but it is not an ideal arrangement either (can see my recent post for pictures) and the way the metal thing was designed/assembled, I don't have much more faith in its being perfectly square than I would have in a printed party anyway lol. Since that post I put a thin m12 nylon washer on each side of the effector. My trigger offset is reasonable so I guess its getting the job done in any event
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@clearlynotstef said in Molex Microfit (or compatible) for the Smart Effector V2 or V3?:
@bberger thanks. I'm currently using an aluminum adapter I bought online because the thought of printed parts being responsible for centering the hotend bothers me but it is not an ideal arrangement either (can see my recent post for pictures) and the way the metal thing was designed/assembled, I don't have much more faith in its being perfectly square than I would have in a printed party anyway lol. Since that post I put a thin m12 nylon washer on each side of the effector. My trigger offset is reasonable so I guess its getting the job done in any event
you could check if the screw holes are the same as a mosquito if so then the 713maker adaptor might be what you want.
HTH
Doug
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@dougal1957 it's what I'm using
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I do hope that we keep with screw terminals as it lets me use a wide range of heaters and setups without having to buy another expensive crimping tool.
Using a thermistor/PT1000 with extra wire length is not a problem due to the size and flexibility of them. But heater wires are another matter and when you use custom, experimental, or different hotends and heatsinks it needs to be flexible.
It won't be fun to be limited on compatibility because you can't find a heater with the right length.
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@bberger sorry to derail this thread but this has been very helpful! I'm having issues with the rapido losing temp like crazy even at low flow speeds after a pid tune. So main two culprits are the heater/pid tune was no good, or the thermistor configuration is wrong. As best I can tell there is no user manual for this thing, which is insane. My printer runs on 12.3v, do you know if the uhf heater is geared for 24v? Do you know if the thermistor is the same as the e3d line (i.e. maybe it's heating fine and temp reporting is off)?
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@clearlynotstef said in Molex Microfit (or compatible) for the Smart Effector V2 or V3?:
@bberger sorry to derail this thread but this has been very helpful! I'm having issues with the rapido losing temp like crazy even at low flow speeds after a pid tune. So main two culprits are the heater/pid tune was no good, or the thermistor configuration is wrong. As best I can tell there is no user manual for this thing, which is insane. My printer runs on 12.3v, do you know if the uhf heater is geared for 24v? Do you know if the thermistor is the same as the e3d line (i.e. maybe it's heating fine and temp reporting is off)?
Rapido is a 24V hotend. Thermistor is a 104NT-4-R025H42G (Semitec Thermistor 100K - NTC).
RRF Config:
M308 S1 P"e0temp" Y"thermistor" T100000 B4725 C7.06e-8 ; Semtec Thermistor -
@baenwort said in Molex Microfit (or compatible) for the Smart Effector V2 or V3?:
without having to buy another expensive crimping tool.
Most of us here buy a 20-30$ universal crimper that is good for all the connectors we encounter in the 3D printing world and possibly another cheap circular crimper for ferrules.
We each have different budgets and financial constraints but it may be a good long investment since you mentioned experimenting with 3D printing technology.
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@zapta doesn't even the Duet 2 and/or Smart Effector itself need a crimping tool for the Molex connectors to get it wired up? It's been quite some time, but I'm almost 100% positive that you at least needed to crimp the 2x5 (?) pin smart effector molex microfit plug yourself anyways.. so a molex-pin compatible crimping tool is required anyways..
I'm just super hesitant to cut off microfit plugs on already short (7cm?) wires on a 100€ hotend that has a soldered thermistor as you can't get the pins out without a special tool. I'd rather solder a microfit connector onto the Smart Effector instead.
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@bberger, what you said sounds reasonable to me.
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@bberger for my last three duet machines I did not have to crimp anything with a special or universal tool. Working with the hotend to customize for me has not needed customized wireing harness as all my changes are from the Smart Effector base.
I feel that universal crimps give poor results more often than good and a specifically designed tool should be used when the hardware was designed for one.
If we went to ferrule for the heater wiring I would personally have no problem as I do have a toll specifically for that. However, I would caution against it due to my desire to keep from forcing people to buy tools.
Perhaps one of the Duet people can correct me on the requirement to have a molex tool to build a Duet system?
I know several vendors of Duet boards in the US use alternative connects to the Molex ones due to supply but they are compatible with the male ends on the board.
