Should've stuck with the knockoff GT2560?
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Some of the early Duet 06 boards were manufactured with screw terminals throughout. They were not popular. With screw terminals, you can't disconnect and reconnect motor cables, endstop cables etc. quickly. There is also a much greater chance that users will mis-wire the board, especially after disconnecting and reconnecting several cables.
….....and the risk of stray strands causing shorts - unless ferrules are used throughout (which need to be crimped).
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The green connectors have screw terminals in a housing and then plug into a header. Alot of the more technical equipment where I work uses them. Maybe I just need practice with the molex/dupont crimper but twisting a wire nice and neat to get it in a terminal sure seems a lot easier than trying to hold those tiny pins by the end to get them to sit in the crimper just right, then close it enough to hold the pin while you try to stick the wire through and try to get it lined up with the wings correctly. But maybe I just suck at it.
My clumsy mechanic hands just better suited to turning a screw driver.EDIT: Oh, I hope I'm not coming off as too combative or disgruntled. I really am enjoying the board and all the neat things it makes possible. Also, you guys are great and super helpful. I'm extremely grateful. Sometimes I play "devil's advocate" without realizing it just to get/keep a discussion going. I often learn a lot from discussions and learning is always a good thing.
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I typically buy the arduino DuPont connector kits and just cut the leads in half and solder the wires together then wrap with heatshrink rather than trying to crimp the pins. I guess there is a chance the solder will break down at some point but I havent had trouble thus far. I usually give the wires a good twist together before soldering. I'm all thumbs so crimping pins turns into @!#×$!! If you know what i mean…lol
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Hang on in there - you'll get there. If a 64 year old carpenter (me) can get get there, so will you. The best advice I can give is just to read through the documentation https://www.duet3d.com/wiki and if you can find the time have scan through this https://duet3d.com/wiki/G-code or at least book mark it for easy reference.
Oh and as you've discovered, we're a pretty well behaved bunch on this forum on the whole - but yes, sometimes playing "Devil's advocate" as you put it, isn't the best way to elicit help.
About the firmware. The Duet team actively seek user input and suggestions for features or improvement. These tend to get acted on promptly which results in frequent firmware updates and new features being added on a fairly regular basis. Whilst this is good for seasoned users, it can make it seem to be a bit daunting for new users who have to try and pick it all up from scratch. Just remember that because a feature exists, it doesn't mean you have to use it. Stick to the basics to start with then play around with some of the more advanced features once you get the machine up and running.
BTW, using a pair of needle nosed pliers to make the initial crimp then finishing off with the proper tool works well for me. I can never get the cable, connector and crimping tool all in the right place to start with.
HTH -
I think a bigger issue with those connectors is that they're quite a bit larger in footprint. It is already difficult to fit a Duet into some printers, and changing to those connectors would probably add a half inch in each direction.
Also a lot of printers come with Dupont or Molex KK connectors already, so they'd have to be cut off to use those terminals. All of the stepper motors we sell come with Dupont connectors on the cable, for example.
We at Filastruder are working on a solution, a 6 inch pigtail with Molex KK on one side and screw terminals on the other. That way folks that don't already have compatible connectors and don't want to crimp have a solution without forcing everyone else to larger boards and/or cutting off perfectly good connectors.
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I think a bigger issue with those connectors is that they're quite a bit larger in footprint. It is already difficult to fit a Duet into some printers, and changing to those connectors would probably add a half inch in each direction.
Also a lot of printers come with Dupont or Molex KK connectors already, so they'd have to be cut off to use those terminals. All of the stepper motors we sell come with Dupont connectors on the cable, for example.
We at Filastruder are working on a solution, a 6 inch pigtail with Molex KK on one side and screw terminals on the other. That way folks that don't already have compatible connectors and don't want to crimp have a solution without forcing everyone else to larger boards and/or cutting off perfectly good connectors.
Ok, the footprint thing makes sense. I'm in the planning stages of building a control panel for my printer with panel-mount connectors for the wiring so pigtails would be useful. Probably use those green connectors (should really find out the name of 'em).I've got about 500 feet of 22/4 AWG shielded alarm cable and tons of 20/2 AWG sensor cable so I'm probably covered.
I'll definitely be going back to Filastruder (that's where I bought my Duet Wifi) when I decide what I'm upgrading next.Also, I just managed to print a bed calibration thing so thanks so much for all the help. My homeall.g file had "G92 Z2.5" at the end of it for some reason. Changed it to "G92 Z0.3" and it's working great. Now I need to think of something to print. Thanks again, guys.
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I don't know if it's the "common" name, but equipment I used to work on used those green connectors under the "Phoenix Contact" brand. Ever since, I have since just referred to them as "Phoenix" connectors.
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Molex calls those pluggable terminals "RF" series. They're good for 10 to 16 amps depending on the specific variation. It's overkill for motors, hot ends, fans and switches which run 3amps or less. KK looks to be good for up to 4A, likely depending on product variants. KK is a lot cheaper than RF too, some RF go for $1 per contact on the plug side, a little less on the receptacle side, so the costs can really add up for 5 motors, 2 hot ends and lots of fans and switches.
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I like the KK's. I designed and built my rig from scratch so I would have had to do the crimping no matter what. I dont have much experience with the green terminals but in my experience anything with a screw in a place where you may be tweaking is bad. If you are in a perpetual state of rewiring, you will eventually strip the screw.
Im not sure why duponts are the king of the hill. they are the only connectors that you cant "properly" crimp with a cheap $30 crimper because they are a little cockeyed. I lucked out and found an "official" dupont crimper on ebay for $50 which i restored.
My only crimping issue is with those stupid JST PH connectors that are on the stepper motors. I have spent at least a duet ethernets amount of money on tools and connectors trying to crimp my own stepper harnesses. Fail fail fail….
Rant over. My vote will always be for function over convenience The former usually leads to the latter. I would be open minded to consider the benefits of the "phoenix" connectors though.
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We like the Molex KK connectors because they are easy to crimp using a low-cost tool, easy to remove pins from the shells without needing a special tool, inexpensive, and they will accept the Dupont sockets on the ends of cables that some 3D printer components are supplied with. The 3A current rating is enough for everything except heaters and power in.
The 3.5mm screw terminals that we use for the hot end heaters seem to be reliable. The alternative would be Molex Microfit 3 connectors (the 2-pin version of the connector that we use for hot end wiring on the Smart Effector), but the pins for those are impossible to extract form the shells without a special and expensive tool.
The high current screw terminals that we use for VIN and the bed heater cause problems for a few users, so we are looking at alternatives for the next generation of Duets.
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Maybe the 22/4 alarm cable I'm using is the problem. It keeps breaking off where the pins crimp on. I might order some 24/4 cable and try that. Heh…every time I need a little wire, I order 500' of it. I'm gonna have to invest in a wire rack.
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I know when I first bought my duetwifi it took me a while to get it going and dialed in. Unfortunatley these boards are not designed for 1 specific type printer and are highly customizable. That is why I bought one. I get better prints than I did with my Anet a8 board. All though other boards are fairly plug and play for I3 clones they are a lot harder to change programming if you need to make changes. I have a ramps 1.4 for my MPCNC and I hate having to modify the software to get it to work right with end stops and such. Duetwifi only takes me a second. Keep working you will be glad you did.
