[Looking for advice] Searching for a small slim twistable connector

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨lennyaa@pawb.social⁩ to ⁨askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de⁩

https://pawb.social/pictrs/image/ad8f31d7-f680-4a28-ab35-04704da4aa70.jpeg

So far I have been using RCY connectors to connect some low power fans for a custom thingy (fursuit head, this will be relevant later (space limitations)). They have a fairly low power draw, so around 5v 0.1A.

This has worked for around a year, but as there is a lot of movement where I use it, the power leads have ripped right at the connector. It looks like this is caused by the lack of any strain relief as the connector is crimped and does not have the usual stress relief thingies, which are often seen at other stuff like psu cables, usb etc.

So I’m looking to upgrade / replace that with a different connector. I’m looking for one which has:

stress relief against bending
is twistable / unidirectional (so something more like a barrel jack / headphone jack)
is small / slim (I have very limited room that’s why I initially used RCY). The size is mostly limited in thickness, not length.
is able to carry the very low voltage and current of 5v 0.1-0.2A (so basically anything will do that)
available in germany (most likely most things should be)

Things I have already considered:

5.5mm 2.5mm (/2.1mm) barrel type connector --> too thick sadly
trying to protect the RCY plug with stuff like shrink tubes --> doesn’t work, just slips off
thinner barrel type connectors --> can’t find a matching set of cable with plug and cable with receptacle

Rn my best bet seems to be 2.5mm headphone jacks. I do have the feeling that there might be something better out there, so that’s why I’m asking here.

Any help would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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Comments

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vk6flab@lemmy.radio ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If you make the wire (much) longer and put the connector in a location where there is less movement will solve both the restricted space and disconnection due to movement.

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- lennyaa@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Thought about that as well, but sadly that’s not possible. I do have other locations to place the connector but those are only worse and have even more movement. Rn the connector is placed against some rigid foam where there is the least amount of movement but is somewhat influenced by the powerbank pouch. The only place I can move it, is to make the cable longer and place it at the bottom of the powerbank pouch where there is only soft faux fur which experiences a lot of movement during walking and turning the head.
  
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  - vk6flab@lemmy.radio ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    If it’s not breaking due to movement, but only due to strain, putting the joint at the power bank seems like the logical choice. You can use cable sheathing or heat shrink where the damage currently occurs as strain relief and abrasion protection.
    
    One other thing.
    
    You mention a pouch. Have you considered how to deal with your power bank if it suddenly self-ignites?
    
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actionjbone@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If you know anybody who 3D prints, that may offer a solution.

I’ve printed custom wire reinforcements in TPU. They are very flexible, and they will take the strain off the wire itself.

Any crimped or soldered joint is going to be a weak point. So if you can’t find something strong enough? Make it!

If you don’t know anyone who has one, you could check thingiverse.com and printables.com for a model that meets your needs, and there are plenty of print services who will make them for you.

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- lennyaa@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I do have a 3d printer but, that one is currently sadly unable to print anything else than PLA (it’s a craptastic old anet a8) and I don’t know anyone at least close by who can do TPU. There is one thing I forgot to add to the original post, one additional reason I want to get something else than RCY is because of the jagged edges. They to tend to get caught in the fabric every know and then. But thanks for the advice so far, I will consider it.
  
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  - Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Have you tried tpu? Googling says it works on the A8.
    
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ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
jst sm for wire to wire like this, keyed, latching, rated to 3A. Should be easily available worldwide

www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/…/8543394

You can get them pre crimped like this if you don’t have a quality crimp tool. If you don’t go with this route. If you need to make like 200+ connections consider getting a quality crimp tool and then the crimp ends and housings, bonus there is no potential failure from solder joints (just from bad crimps since you will most likely not buy the 450€ JST WC-240 that is the official crimp tool. Tbf the engineer PA-09, which is what I use, is pretty solid once you get the hang of it and much more reasonable at ~ 30€. They don’t ratchet and they’re slower because they don’t have the wide dies but the crimp shape is very high quality, which matters. Just don’t get the ultra cheap unbranded or noname ratcheting crimpers with shit dies that cost like 10-15€ and give you bad crimps that fail 40+% of the time)

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- lennyaa@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  That connector does look robust, the only issue with that are the hard edges. I see now that I should’ve added that to the list of requirements (my bad). The thing with hard edges is that they can get caught in the fabric which then not only damages the fabric but also pulls on the cable / plug damaging them as well.
  
  About getting quality gear, I fully agree with that, I’d rather spend a bit more if it means it won’t break later. If you can find / help me find some kind of round connector that would help me a lot.
  
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  - ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Wrap with 3m friction tape? Depends on how often you need to plug unplug I guess
    
    This was an interesting dilemma so I researched it a bit:
    
    Apparently some people use brass/tin plated snaps. Conductive and good for low voltage. Sew in and when the suit is put on just snap them together: www.adafruit.com/product/1126
    
    Some of these are used in a medical context and actually officially rated for voltage/current if you’re worried about that: romed.com/medical-electrical-snap-fasteners.aspx
    
    Alternatively rosenberger makes a series of magnetic snap connectors with softer edges. Pricey though www.rosenberger.com/…/magnetic-connectors/
    
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- morbidcactus@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Second recommendation of the engineer PA-09, handled everything from molex microfits to tiny jst gh happily. I’ve used crappy ratcheting ones due to the volume I had to do on one project and ended up redoing half of them anyhow.
  
  Dont cheap out on tools.
  
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Honytawk@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Is it possible to make a loop with the cable and put the connector somewhere between the crossing of the cables?

If you tie the cables together, all the strain is on the cables, instead of on the connector.

Because as long as there is strain on the connector, all of them will eventually fail.

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- lemmyman@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  Because as long as there is strain on the connector, all of them will eventually fail.
  
  This is key.
  
  OP needs to secure the cable on each side of the connection, and leave a little slack for the connector.
  
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- lennyaa@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’ll try making a loop with the cable through the cable holding fabric strap. Thing is that the room is very limited there, so that might fail, but I will give it a try. I will do that after replacing the plug as the loops needs some additional cable length, which isn’t there rn.
  
  Also to note, I am still looking for a replacement of the RCY connectors, as I forgot to mention in the post, but one issue with those RCY plugs is that they have hard 90° edges, causing them to get caught in the fabric every now and then. And generally rubbing against it which isn’t good for both the plug and the fabric. So I’m looking to replace them with something with rounded corners as even when I make a loop they will still rub a bit against the fabric.
  
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dangling_cat@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
JST! You can check out XH, PH, or SH, depending on your needs.

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- lennyaa@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I used JST XH before that and that failed gloriously. The cables constantly unplugged themselves as JST XH has too little resistance against unplugging.
  
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