Originally Posted by
mrlemon
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
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