I've been working on my first prussa for the last few weeks (I have to force myself to slow down, otherwise I rush it). I'm getting pretty close to start wiring the rig and I've got a few thoughts, but I dont know if I'm gonna smoke something in the process.
I've managed to scrounge a PSU from an old server I had laying around. 2 seperate 12V rails with 20Amps each, so I'm pretty pumped about that. I'm planning on cramming the PSU and arduino/RAMP into a small aluminum case for a nice and neat little package. Well, maybe eventually once the bugs are worked out. While working that direction, I'm looking at easy ways to wire the steppers. I've found the crimping of the small 4pin connectors to be the single most frustrating part of the project so far, but I know its unavoidable. Since I'm a network admin by trade, I'm looking real hard at using cat cable and plugs.
I'm thinking of using some cat cable inside the box, that on one end has the 4pin connectors to the board and gets terminated to a jack mounted on the outside of my case. from the stepper motors, I can solder the bare end of the wires together and terminate with an RJ45 plug on the other end. Click it all together and I have an easy way to seperate the printer from the electronics. I'm thinking that since cat cable is 4 pairs, I could run two steppers through each cat cable. As long as I'm thorough and meticulous getting the same pairs at each junction, shouldnt this work?
I guess my big concern is melting something. I'm a little unsure if the cable will support the amperage to the steppers. Its 4 pairs of solid core 24awg. Although I have stranded core as well. I'm not planning on using it to go to the heated bed.
Any thoughts on likelyhood the whole thing melts to the ground when I flip the switch?
Thanks for the insight!
