Sleeving & Crimping Thread

Phuncz

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With great small-form-factor comes great cable-spaghetti.

If you have questions on sleeving, sleeving techniques, connectors, pins, crimping, pin-outs, trimming PSU cables, cable management and what ever internal cable discussion, this is the topic to talk about these.

I have a decent supply of MDPC-X stuff and I've sleeved a lot of stuff, from complete ATX PSUs up to telephones at work.
But I still don't think I've come close to being good at it or showing it off, MDPC style. Still, this is relevant to SFF, cutting and trimming PSU cables is a way to eliminate a considerable amount of space lost due to excessive cabling.
 

Phuncz

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Something I noticed is this:



If you enlarge the image, the shoelace/paracord sleeving (which I dislike an awful lot) is crimped along with the connector. Does anyone have an idea if these are specific pins, requiring a specific crimping tool or is this a seperate ring/clamp ?
 

iFreilicht

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Feb 28, 2015
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In theory you should make sure that the terminal you use supports a higher wire gauge than you would normally use, but other than that, there's no different kind of pin required for this sort of thing. You should be very careful when crimping and melting the ends of the cable though, because you have to pretty much line up the end of the sleeve and the end of the insulation perfectly to have the crimp connection be as strong as possible.
 

Phuncz

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Mind you, the image from my previous is from Bitfenix's new cable kits: https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/premium-modding/alchemy-2-0-modular-cable

So this is done by machine most likely. It's still interesting to see or try, but I think I might ruin my crimper with a complete crimp with sleeving and wire... I'll try a few and see if it's possible with MDPC-X sleeving.

EDIT: nope, can't do it with my SATA terminals and sleeving, there's no room for the sleeving and when using too small cables (casefan style) the sleeving is much too big.

So I guess I'll need to find larger gauge terminals.
 
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Amr0d

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Jul 10, 2016
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I recently got my hands on a Ncase M1 and got all supplies for cable sleeving here but I am not sure if I can do it. I read about different "pin layouts" for every PSU and since I don't want to break anything I would like to know if there is a video or tutorial for dummies. I can handle the sleeving and crimping and everything but when it comes to puzzle solving aka putting the pin in the right hole I feel like I am stupid. Is there a way to make me understand how I can make the right cables for my Corsair SF600?
 

Phuncz

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I recommend getting a second cable set and get a PSU tester, they shouldn't be that expensive. That way you can always turn back, but also test before you connect your PC to it.
 

Amr0d

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Jul 10, 2016
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Since I am planning on creating a complete new set of cables I could use the original ones to make my ones exactly the same right? Just put the pins and cables to the exakt same hole like on the SF600 or am I wrong?

Oh and what is a PSU tester? I would buy it then.
 
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Amr0d

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Jul 10, 2016
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Ok, I ordered the PSU Tester as well. Afaik this will tell me if I have done everything correctly?
 

MODZERO

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Ok, I ordered the PSU Tester as well. Afaik this will tell me if I have done everything correctly?

That is correct. If you're using the original cables as the basis for your customs it can be both a blessing and a curse. As @Phuncz stated keep clear notes of your pinout. Get yourself a good quality pin remover and crimp tool, check out Lutro and E22 or MDPCX. I'd buy new connectors for one end, measure your length, remove a single cable, cut to said length, sleeve and re-crimp the cut end and insert into new connector, this way you 'may' be less likely to make a mistake with your pin-out. It's all a learning curve, take your time and enjoy the burnt numb fingertips.

J.
 
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Amr0d

Efficiency Noob
Jul 10, 2016
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I bought everything new and three times just to be sure :D I got about 12m cable, 10m sleeves, over 100 crimps etc. I wanted to build everything from ground up. So the plan was to use the original cables as a blueprint and simply clone them but shorter :D
 

Phuncz

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That seems like a good plan, keep us updated on your project, I'm curious to find out how it goes.
 

MODZERO

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I bought everything new and three times just to be sure :D I got about 12m cable, 10m sleeves, over 100 crimps etc. I wanted to build everything from ground up. So the plan was to use the original cables as a blueprint and simply clone them but shorter :D

Yup, sounds like a great plan. When I did MODZERO FORTY I was so surprised by the sheer length of wire/sleeve it took! I went back to the sponsors twice for more stock.. and even that build was MATX, I'd hate to think how much you'd need for a beast build. Quite looking forward to working with the HDPLEX 250W + S4 Mini in that regard.

I often find sleeving to be a PIA but ultimately the most rewarding aspect. I took this a couple months ago when working on my entry to the Thermaltake UK modding trophy. Tight schedule meant I just knocked out some extensions.








...

...


J.
 
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RenG

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 17, 2016
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Hi,

I'm planning to use HDPlex 250W as well and try to use sleeved cables instead. My motherboard is ASUS Z97I. I've checked pin layouts for both asus z97i and hdplex 250W and found these.





They are almost the same except for 1 pin. It is 12V for HDPlex while it's -5V for the mobo. I can't even find the -5V in the HDPlex pin layout. My question is, does that mean I can't use a simple extension cable for the HDPlex? If so, how will I supply the -5V if it doesn't even exist in the HDPlex?

Thanks!
 
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jeshikat

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Feb 22, 2015
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Welcome to the forum!

The -5V is not part of the ATX standard anymore and newer power supplies do not have it. Modern motherboards do not require it either.

I would assume that wire on the stock HDPlex 24-pin cable is missing, but I'm not sure on that.
 

RenG

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 17, 2016
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Welcome to the forum!

The -5V is not part of the ATX standard anymore and newer power supplies do not have it. Modern motherboards do not require it either.

I would assume that wire on the stock HDPlex 24-pin cable is missing, but I'm not sure on that.

Thanks! Been visiting this forum regularly for the past months. :D

The Z97I is still relatively new mobo though.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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The Z97I is still relatively new mobo though.

Yes, but it doesn't use the -5V for anything. It's probably only part of the pinout for that 1 guy using a PSU that's old enough to drive with that board.
 

RenG

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 17, 2016
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Yes, but it doesn't use the -5V for anything. It's probably only part of the pinout for that 1 guy using a PSU that's old enough to drive with that board.

Does that mean I just have to remove the cable from that particular pin? Unfortunately, that's the only HDPlex diagram I saw. I am not sure either if they removed it from the latest versions.