What wiring to use?

handyandy

I am just about to rebuild my own design 3D printer powered by a Duet 2 Wi-Fi board (so 24v) with hopefully neat and ordered wiring.
I will need to buy new wiring from the Hemera extruder assembly to the Duet board and limit switches etc.
Can anyone suggest what spec of wiring I will need? Ideally I would like multiple colours for each of the various items, and if possible where to get it.
I have seen multi-colour alarm cable on Amazon but I am not sure this would be suitable as most of it seems to have single strand tinned cores?

pkos

There's a lot of variables going here that will make answering your question in a simple way difficult like how will you run the wires? In a chain? In a sleeve? Ziptied? What lengths? Loads of variables that will impact the type of wire to pick.

For example, if you go for chains, stay away from silicone sleeved wires. They will bind up on you and break with time.

I tried loads and recently I ended up either with PTFE or FEP sleeved wires - my brand of choice is Heluflon (easy to get in the EU, not sure about other places).
I use AWG 24 for almost everything except heaters - there I calculate the needed amperage and match gauge for the use.

You could also go with PTFE wires from Aliexpress or Amazon - they should work too. I used loads of those before switching to Heluflon and never had any issues.

They are more stiff - which can be both good and bad - again depending on your specific use case.

mrehorstdmd

@handyandy Whatever you use, try to use twisted pairs for motor coil leads, limit switches, temperature sensors, etc. Twisting the wires reduces EM radiation and reduces coupling between the different wires. It is especially important to prevent motor coils and heaters that have relatively high, pulsed currents, from interfering with relatively small signals from temperature sensors.

I designed an easy to print twister tool for making twisted pairs from any wire between 24 and 12 gauge.

dc42

@handyandy is there a reason you have chosen Duet 2? We generally advise using Duet 3 for new designs. Duet 3 Mini is more capable than Duet 2 in almost all respects except for maximum stepper motor current.

If you did choose Duet 3 Mini then you could greatly reduce the wiring between the Duet and the hot end by using a Tool Board mounted on the hot end.

handyandy

@dc42 Hi,
That's an easy one... I already have the Duet 2 Wi-Fi board!
I can't afford to just replace it with a Duet 3 as much as the more compact board etc interests me.