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Thread: Wiring Strategy / Internal Design

  1. #1

    Default Wiring Strategy / Internal Design

    Ahoy from Seattle !


    1. My students are struggling with wiring.
    Problem: many of their wiring looms won’t fit inside a hilt without damaging a connection or component.


    2. Our objective is to develop a flowchart or decision tree to help them through this process.


    3. I’m not experienced enough to have seen all the issues and solutions that arise from this, so we need to ask for your help with wiring strategy and craftsmanship.


    4. I want to cast a wide net - at first - to encompass all the ideas that involve strategy, design and building, and then let the students work out a decision tree for themselves.

    5. Observations from the students:
    a. Not much room in a 7” hilt;
    b. As small as they are, JST connectors can take up a lot of space;
    c. Careful soldering and testing seem pointless if you have to force your hard work into the hilt like you’re making sausage (“It’s like an impacted wisdom tooth!”);
    d. The rat’s nest resulting from the wire-press can damage connectors or stress joints;
    e. Building a chassis with disks or a speaker mount doesn’t seem to save much room;
    f. Extensions and switch boxes are the way to go;
    g. Corollary to f: there doesn’t seem to be a way to use just a blade holder, main body, and pommel without extensions or switch boxes.
    h. General input or constraints: hilt length & ID, appropriate AWG, chassis type, switch(es) and location, battery type and orientation, sound board model and orientation, and how much slack wire is needed for maintenance.
    i. Once these parts are chosen, then focus on order of assembly.
    j. One student tried arranging the wiring loom in an S shape and used monofilament line to retain the shape as she closed the pommel and blade holder on the hilt body. Just before the threaded parts connected, she pulled the line out. Results were mixed. Still plan to acquire a transparent hilt body to observe wiring results.

    6. We’ve watched Mr. Petkau’s (and others) various videos and taken notes on wiring, and they’re very helpful.

    For example, in “Building a Basic Saber with Sound Part 1,” (at about 23:40) Mr. Petkau builds the LED module and momentary switch with about ten inches of wire to allow for removing the chassis to replace the battery. He also feeds the wire toward the front of the chassis to allow for flex (and for ease in mounting the switch nut and washer).

    6. So, their questions for the Wise Ones of the Forum:
    a. Is there a wiring strategy you follow to minimize internal clutter?
    b. What best practices or tips would you recommend for efficient wiring?
    c. Is there a way to stagger placement of the JST connections (and other internals) to minimize the rat’s nest?
    d. Is there a way to minimize wire length yet still use JST connectors?
    e. Are there other connectors that we should try?
    f. Any videos we should review for demonstrations of wiring strategy or best practices?
    g. One student asked about the possibility of a rigidly mounted plug on the inside of the hilt body. The chassis would connect to the plug, then sealed by the pommel, and the forward switch(es) and LED assembly would feed from the rigid relay.
    Anyone think this would work?

    7. They send their thanks and appreciation in advance for all your help and advice!


    Best regards,
    -Mike

  2. #2

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    The skill your students seek is commonly known in the community as Cram-Fu.

    Cram-Fu is an art form, it’s sister skill is known as Design-Fu. I’ll address parts of the laundry list tomorrow.

    I’ll see what I can scrounge up picture wise or maybe will try to do a video with some various hilts, to help try to explain things.
    Last edited by Forgetful Jedi Knight; 10-22-2020 at 09:40 PM.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  3. #3

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    This would be a fun topic to discuss, too much to sit and type though. If you ever want to have a chat, though, I'm always open to a facetime chat, where you can see how I handle some of these issues in my builds!

  4. #4

    Default

    See my comments below in green.

    Quote Originally Posted by mrlemon View Post
    Ahoy from Seattle !


    1. My students are struggling with wiring.
    Problem: many of their wiring looms won’t fit inside a hilt without damaging a connection or component.


    2. Our objective is to develop a flowchart or decision tree to help them through this process.


    3. I’m not experienced enough to have seen all the issues and solutions that arise from this, so we need to ask for your help with wiring strategy and craftsmanship.


    4. I want to cast a wide net - at first - to encompass all the ideas that involve strategy, design and building, and then let the students work out a decision tree for themselves.

    5. Observations from the students:
    a. Not much room in a 7” hilt; If you are referring to the 7” main body sections, that’s sort of true, but it can be done.
    b. As small as they are, JST connectors can take up a lot of space; Yes. Not everything could (or should be quick disconnect. It’s makes things seem easy, but it’s not.
    c. Careful soldering and testing seem pointless if you have to force your hard work into the hilt like you’re making sausage (“It’s like an impacted wisdom tooth!) Again, this is sort of true. Testing makes sure you didn’t screw up the basics.
    d. The rat’s nest resulting from the wire-press can damage connectors or stress joints; Yup.
    e. Building a chassis with disks or a speaker mount doesn’t seem to save much room; The goal isn’t to “save a lot of room”, the goal is to keep everything motionless, so you are able to fight with these, and have them withstand the impact.
    f. Extensions and switch boxes are the way to go. Yes. They do tend to make things a bit easier.
    g. Corollary to f: there doesn’t seem to be a way to use just a blade holder, main body, and pommel without extensions or switch boxes.. It Depends(TM). It can be done, but it’s not very easy, but a switch box does help.
    h. General input or constraints: hilt length & ID, appropriate AWG, chassis type, switch(es) and location, battery type and orientation, sound board model and orientation, and how much slack wire is needed for maintenance. This is where “Design-Fu” comes in. Depending on the technology you choose to use, that basically determines the wire gauges you can use. Smaller gauges (26-30 AWG) are good for switches, speakers, accent LEDs and 26-28 gauge can even handle the current needed for Tri-Cree setups. Neopixel setups will require thicker gauge wires (20-24) due to the current carried through them to power Neopixel strips.
    i. Once these parts are chosen, then focus on order of assembly. Yes, and sometimes the assembly order isn’t necessarily the order you had in mind going into the project.
    j. One student tried arranging the wiring loom in an S shape and used monofilament line to retain the shape as she closed the pommel and blade holder on the hilt body. Just before the threaded parts connected, she pulled the line out. Results were mixed. Still plan to acquire a transparent hilt body to observe wiring results.

    6. We’ve watched Mr. Petkau’s (and others) various videos and taken notes on wiring, and they’re very helpful. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that

    For example, in “Building a Basic Saber with Sound Part 1,” (at about 23:40) Mr. Petkau builds the LED module and momentary switch with about ten inches of wire to allow for removing the chassis to replace the battery. He also feeds the wire toward the front of the chassis to allow for flex (and for ease in mounting the switch nut and washer).

    6. So, their questions for the Wise Ones of the Forum:
    a. Is there a wiring strategy you follow to minimize internal clutter? Of course, but each build is different (see below)
    b. What best practices or tips would you recommend for efficient wiring? This question goes back to the overall design and Question A. What I tend to do is wire up the board first and once it’s in the chassis, “install” the chassis, fish the extended wires to where they belong and wire them into place (could be a switch box)or standalone.
    c. Is there a way to stagger placement of the JST connections (and other internals) to minimize the rat’s nest? Yes, but it might not necessarily help you as much as you hope.
    d. Is there a way to minimize wire length yet still use JST connectors? Again, it’s possible, BUT the prewired JST wires come with thick gauge wires (usually 20 or 22 AWG), they’re not ideal for lots of wiring.
    e. Are there other connectors that we should try? I’ll discuss this one over email.
    f. Any videos we should review for demonstrations of wiring strategy or best practices? I’d have to check the archives and see if there’s anything that would be useful.
    g. One student asked about the possibility of a rigidly mounted plug on the inside of the hilt body. The chassis would connect to the plug, then sealed by the pommel, and the forward switch(es) and LED assembly would feed from the rigid relay.
    Anyone think this would work? Its been done once in a while in the past, but the benefit doesn’t necessarily justify the effort.

    7. They send their thanks and appreciation in advance for all your help and advice!


    Best regards,
    -Mike
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  5. #5

    Default

    Ok. I’ll put these up to try to help you out.

    The first four are a project that I’m currently working on now.

    As I said before, I wire the board first, leave the wires long so I can run them to their final destinations. In this case, the wires need to go through a Crystal Chamber.



    The below is the “assembled chassis:



    A shot to show how things are suppose to line up (and how the exposed wires are laid out). What will happen is that the windowed chamber piece will be slid over the crystal chamber, an extension will slide over the rest of the chassis and screw into the bottom of the chamber section, holding the chassis is place (more or less).

    The below is a partially installed shot. There are no QDs (Quick disconnects) going to anything in the control box.
    There are also a couple of set screws that help keep the chassis in place, and they’re under the black trim ring.


    This is known as the “Clan X” Saber. There is no crystal chamber, but I do have a PLI integrated into the design.
    The first shot is a preliminary test of things, and the second is the “final product”. The chassis is held in by the threaded gender changer. This best exemplifies the extension designs that your students have figured out is the better way to go.



    Here is a link to the Clan X Saber video... https://youtu.be/5D6EjaWuBFE

    The bottom is a commission I did a couple of years ago. It is a main body, and it has a crystal chamber included in it. I’m not using a control box in this one, but it does have a main and an aux switch, as well as a recharge port. I also wired the Crystal Focus board to have an onboard PLI paragraph that also did little displays. This is a good example of “Design-Fu”. Amongst the many things I accomplished is a exterior design that allowed for the Wolf’s eyes to light up when the blade is on (lining up the blade holders windows and the shrouds “eyes” - see bottom pic) and the Crystal Chamber to light up some of the leaves in the shroud.





    The shroud rotates to expose the crystal chamber. There is even an accent light (the yellow light you see).







    The interior design is the crystal chamber (above) with the accent light. It also had the PLI bargraph below and the little silver domed switch is the aux button. This is basically a custom blade holder 31, an 8” main body, and a pommel. So, it CAN be done. This is a bit like music school, it takes time, practice and experience, but it can be done.



    Last edited by Forgetful Jedi Knight; 10-23-2020 at 11:36 AM.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  6. #6

    Default

    More comments to come, FJK, but first: do you have another link to the Clan X video?

    "Video unavailable
    This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds."

    Thanks!

  7. #7

    Default

    Thanks, Light Bringer! -

    That would be very useful.
    The topic needs the back and forth of a conversation. I'll drop you a note this weekend, if that's OK.

    -Mike

  8. #8

    Default

    You can also shoot me a message regarding video chats.

    I don’t have another link. It makes sense now why I had an issue finding that video. I’ll have to remember to not have the radio going in the future.

    Aside from seeing it light up, the feature was just removing the grip section to get to the SD card.

    Here’s a video to a different saber, but the principle is basically the same.

    https://youtu.be/2-bmgaVsP4w
    Last edited by Forgetful Jedi Knight; 10-24-2020 at 07:04 AM.
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mrlemon View Post
    More comments to come, FJK, but first: do you have another link to the Clan X video?

    "Video unavailable
    This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds."

    Thanks!
    I redid it without the audio...
    https://youtu.be/nEaLd4riIkw
    TCSS MODERATOR
    All n00bs READ these first (PLEASE)!!!:
    1. Forum Guidelines
    2. FJK’s “Down and Dirty” guide to Ohm’s Law

    "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before... you want blindingly bright, super loud, running 1138 blinkies off of the cheapest sound card you can find AND you want all of it to run on a battery the size of a dime, and run for a very, VERY long time. That one cracks me up every time..."
    My email: fjk_tcss@yahoo.com

  10. #10

    Default

    Necroing this thread because it's currently something I'm working on.

    I'm doing my damnedest to use as little wire as possible while giving me enough room to pull the chassis out to change the battery. I am using jst connectors and the harness from TCSS for the NB which is a double edged sword.

    My *biggest* problems stem from needing to screw in the threaded extensions. Since the switch is mounted it just wants to bind up. So I kind of have to do it in a weird order so everything that can spin will spin. BUT that makes it tricky to take the battery out.

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