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Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Cables and connectors - casting

From: Alan King <alan@...>
Date: 2005-01-21

Dale Mosby wrote:
>
> I was defnitely looking for something quite inexpensive - on the
> order of my investment in toner transfer PBC process. I would not
> mind the expense of a vacuum chamber to remove bubbles from rubber.


If you do this part, get a Foodsaver. Good for food and pulls an ok vacuum
in one of the cannisters.


> Any pointers to what to ask for as a molding compound that would dry
> reasonably hard are stick well to insulated wires. Is "silicon
> rubber" a well known description when looking for this material?
>

Try putting a loop or Z bend into the wire, and embedding it into expoxy or
other compound. Most cables are either fully molded as a single piece, or have
the cable jacked pushed back and reformed into a plug and the connector shell is
made around that. Take apart a few and you'll see that most aren't made like
you're talking about in the first place, so it's probably a bad way to go.. The
ones that are are the same material and solvent welded, you're not likely to
accomplish that with random wire jackets and potting material. Most wires have
release agents and/or a thin oil film from machine handling, you'd need a very
good strip and roughen before even trying to glue. Simply not worth the effort
vs more normal mechanical methods.

Alan