Some tips on clean wiring my machine?

Hey guys, currently working with a Reprap Air 2 XL and I am going to make a change from Sanguino 1.3a to Ramps 1.4

Now, I have invested in good wires, all I have to do is re-solder and shrink-heat the connections from my stepper motors and the wires with molex connectors.

Right now my wires are going all around the machine, around the left side along the back, through a hole in the top of the acrylic plating, and from the heatbed down underneath the machine and everything comes out on the right side where my Sanguino is mounted on the side of the acrylic plating.

When I get the Ramps, I obviously don't have space to mount the Ramps on the side of the machine, the spacing of the holes is different and since I am going to re-wire everything I want to take the time and chance to learn more about setting up wires correctly and neatly.

Are there guides on doing this, or some advice to look out for things when I mount this?

The first time I had some wires too tightly secured and the movement of the X-and Z-axis' would pull too much on the wiring of the Extruder- and X-axis' stepper motors.

Okay, I have been cleaning up a lot.

Rewired the machine, replaced all connectors for versions with longer wire so I don't have this going on:
Stepper motor - four short wires - four other short wires in a different color scheme - selfmade connector

Now it's just one nice combination of same-colored wires and they are nicely crimped together and covered with heatshrink.

After this I tried to combine all the wires into tubes that I ordered, it's this type:
[www.conrad.nl]

You can insert the cables into the guide-tubes with this tool (you need the one that is made for your thickness of cable):
[www.conrad.nl]

The beginning and the ends of the guide-tubes were connected by just two tie-rips around the stepper motor and the guide tube in between them so there is no tension on the wires coming out of the stepper motor. The whole physical weight and movement-stress is carried by these guide-tubes and it all works beautifully.

In my Reprap Air 2, I have drilled a few small holes so I can tie the guide-tubes onto my frame with tie-rips. the machine looks very clean now, cable-management is a piece of cake this way. I also have put my X-endstop onto the X-carriage instead of on the X-ends to all the cables coming from the X- carriage are all inserted into one tube. The tube is fixed to the stepper motor with one end, and to the frame on the other end and comes out right where the Sanguino is hanging on the frame.

See the picture for more.
I wish someone had given me hints on this, but I managed eventually.

First try to fix the cable management:


Improvements after the first try:


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2013 06:25AM by Ohmarinus.

Cable chains are nice for making sure the wires don't get caught in anything. This video shows cable chains in action.

A lot of RepRappers use these... WIRE CHAINS

Did you guys even look at the pictures I posted? I fixed it! I had already printed the cable chains, but they were not good enough, I wanted something better, and I found it! It even has a special tool to guide the wire through the cable guide