DIY Cable Carrier

[Madclicker]

I like the bow that shopbot uses...in fact I like a lot that shopbot uses. Lionclaw made a nice diy take on the Y-Z cable routing:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=142

Not fond of the wood. I'll use some phenolic, but the same way. I got some nice big echains from a zoner for cheap. Will use for both of my big table's X axes.

[epineh]

Originally Posted by joe2000che why not do the simple and cheap route and use the blue plastic electrical conduit from lowes or homedepot or and hardware store, it is flexible enough and you can use a bolt to strap the ends to so it can bow across the for the Y and Z axis.

Yeah, that is pretty much how my machine is at the moment, 'cept I used black loom tube, I'm guessing same stuff - flexible with a cut along its length to push the cable in.

Just wanted to "flash" it up a bit.

Originally Posted by Madclicker I like the bow that shopbot uses...in fact I like a lot that shopbot uses. Lionclaw made a nice diy take on the Y-Z cable routing: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=142 Not fond of the wood. I'll use some phenolic, but the same way. I got some nice big echains from a zoner for cheap. Will use for both of my big table's X axes.

Yeah that was a nice simple idea that would work fine, I'm goin to use what I can and then hopefully make something on the machine, with the intention of posting the g-code so others can do the same (hopefully it works...)

Last attempt is drying as we speak, got something to work, just need time to dry, only have two links at the moment, I think it will hold together long enough for some photo's and who knows, maybe the machine's first cuts before it catches fire...

Russell.

[epineh]

OK, here is the first attempt, try not to laugh too hard when you have a look, I used 40mm by 25mm dual channel duct, it is used to run phone/data cabling alongside power cabling and keep segregation between the two. It was also the first bit of scrap I picked up from our workshop... sold!!!

I cut it into small pieces as you can see then glued them to a piece of webbing that started life on my teenage daughters carry bag, don't worry, she doesn't read any cnc posts... lol.

Used PVC conduit glue and had to let it all sit clamped for a few hours to set well enough.

Pretty happy with the result, only issue is that it tends to bend too well and the radius sometimes goes too small. I think I can fix this fairly easily by including a stiffening rod, maybe fibreglass spars you see on cheap kites, something that will not bend too tightly and also not intefere with the cables.

The black colour is from me "painting" one side with permanent marker.

Anyway it will do until the router lives.

Russell.

[joecnc2006]

Originally Posted by epineh OK, here is the first attempt, try not to laugh too hard when you have a look, I used 40mm by 25mm dual channel duct, it is used to run phone/data cabling alongside power cabling and keep segregation between the two. It was also the first bit of scrap I picked up from our workshop... sold!!! I cut it into small pieces as you can see then glued them to a piece of webbing that started life on my teenage daughters carry bag, don't worry, she doesn't read any cnc posts... lol. Used PVC conduit glue and had to let it all sit clamped for a few hours to set well enough. Pretty happy with the result, only issue is that it tends to bend too well and the radius sometimes goes too small. I think I can fix this fairly easily by including a stiffening rod, maybe fibreglass spars you see on cheap kites, something that will not bend too tightly and also not intefere with the cables. The black colour is from me "painting" one side with permanent marker. Anyway it will do until the router lives. Russell.

I think your concept is ok, but you may want to try to bend in other direction and make slant cuts at about 5° or what will work with the radius you need, so when it bends it hold itself up, that is how the commercial ones work. Here is a sample drawing i threw together.

Joe

[lerman]

Instead of using glue to attach the backing strip, you might consider pop rivets. Just make sure that the head is on the inside so that the wire is not abraded.

Ken

[epineh]

Joe, yep you are right, that would work perfectly, back to the drawing board.

Ken, I thought of using pop rivets, but I wanted to keep the "hinge" as close to the edge as possible and the stuff I am using is very thin plastic, probably wouldn't hold without some damage. I guess I could rivet a small rectangular plate alongside the edge to hold it in place.

Well version II should be better, after all, this first attempt cost, well nothing, all from scrap lying around.

Russell.

[greybeard]

If you used Joe's idea with the channel bending his way, cut your dual channel into sections with sloping ends. Then cut the just through the thicker ridges on the snap-on lid at the same intervals as the lengths of the channel, and use the flat surface of the lid as the hinge.
If it's too stiff, cut half way through it.
I think the amount of flexing would allow quite a long lifetime before it started to crack up.
John

[bigz1]

Great idea Epinah.

[epineh]

Thanks bigz1

John, I thought of doing that, I don't know how well it would hold up to the flexing, guess for the amount it will be doing it might be ok. The webbing is quite easy to glue on, just needs a bit of pressure to take.

I could also cut the duct as you had mentioned, leaving the bottom to act as a hinge. Hmmm more things to try. The upside is that I am only using scrap so far, so I can experiment with this a fair bit.

Russell.

[greybeard]

I'll probably use this method when I get that far on my own set up, and it occurs to me that to mend a split piece I'd use a strong self adhesive tape.
In which case it would seem sensible to try that right from the start !
I'd just have to identify the strongest adhesive for the duct that I intend to use. With the 'chain' turning inwards, the tape will not be trying to peel off, so this should make the demands on the adhesive less. Just turn the ends over into the inside of the first and last link should make it pretty secure.
To 'flash it up' - how about "chrome spray" from the nearest auto shop - I found it sits well on most plastics, especially if you give it a coat of spray varnish afterwards.

John

[nuplowboy]

I just upgraded the steppers and controller on my router and went with some approx 1/2" ID clear vinyl tubing I had lying around for another project. So far it seems to work great for keeping the wires in check, a couple screws and/or duct tape secured the ends (couldn't find my zipties at the time)

[greybeard]

epineh - I've been thinking(always dangerous) about which way to cut the trunking.
If you cut through just the U-shaped part, leaving the top off, then you can set up the saw to chop it into short lengths, with the ends at 5 degrees.
Then modifying the top, if necessary, is a seperate job.
However, if you cut through the top and the upper walls of the trunk, leaving the bottom as a hinge, you then have a long 'snake' flopping about, while you're trying to do the cutting.
Whereas handling the top piece on its own might prove easier, as it's not going to change much by nicking through part of its depth.

John