Loose wires

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Troubleshooting
1

I tried to search out what I could about this, apologies if I missed something…

Where my steppers plug in to the board they seem excessively loose. Just recently I hot glued them in thinking that’d solve it, but just the slightest bit of wiggle/tension makes at least 2 of the steppers (one x, one y) get jumpy. As is, I can’t put the cover on the case because it introduces enough flex/tension/whatever to cause this. This suggests to me that no amount of gluing is really “enough” when such little force can break the connection.

I’m wondering:

How is this normally handled?

Out of curiosity, why are these cables the way that they are? Unsure if extensions with the proper ends that’ll clip in to the board are just harder/impossible/more expensive to source. If they exist, I want to find them for my own peace of mind lol

Is it even normal for them to be this sensitive or is it possible I have some other issue? I know I’ve received boards (unrelated to MPCNC) with loose solder joints, or cables with loose pins etc. Wondering if i need to extend my troubleshooting. At a quick glance they all seem ok though.

Standard MPCNC setup, all parts purchased from here in the bundles.

Thanks in advance, also I love this thing. It’s milling aluminum like a boss and that is mind blowing to me at this price point. It was also a blast to build.

2

Maybe some pictures would help.

My wires have always been so insanely tight I only ever put them 1/2 way in so I have a chance of getting them out later. If yours are too tight pull off the plastic shrouds and plug them in further.

3

omg lmao

I kept reading your reply over and over thinking “I said too LOOSE, not too tight” until it clicked. You nailed it.

I guess to be clear if anyone googles this same thing and stumbles upon this: They felt like they were inserted all the way, but they were not. Once the pins on the board hit the inserts in the plug, it felt “snug” to me. They needed to be forced down further. A lot further. Shine a light in to the side of the board connector and if its what I just did, you’ll see that the plug is still 1/8"+ from being all the way in.

Problem solved, I am retarded. Thank you!

4

Realizing retardedness during technical malfunctions is the main stay of all technicians.

It should be quoted, “Technical troubleshooting makes us all retards every once in a while.”

“geez, if only I had turned on that light switch I would have saved hours of troubleshooting this dead dumb system.”
wait! who’s dumb? Yeah, that’s me.

5

I swear it was like a cartoon. As soon as what Ryan was saying registered I ran out to the garage, shined the light on it and literally face palmed.

Now I’m mostly stunned it worked as well as it did. I’ve cut at least 8 plates of aluminum with those contacts just barely hanging on

6

Hahahahahahaha!