Koz Ross
On the advice of @mia , and with the experience of @amd , I have decided to finally get Catboat-1 running again by rebuilding its toolhead. I'm going with the Xol, using the Tap carriage and the MeowXol faceplate. Now I have to order some parts (in transit now), but I can print the shell at least!
Overall, _super_ impressed with the design of these parts, especially their supports.
Rich Felker
@koz @3dprinting My $25 IWS-3220M handles JST-PH just as easily as JST-XH. I've done plenty of motor connectors with it.
I would not solder-join wires on a toolhead. The solder will eventually break from vibrations. If you want to join them, use butt connectors or abuse ferrules as low-profile butt connectors (IME the normal ones are annoyingly bulky for a toolhead), assuming you have a ferrule crimp tool (which you should have if you wire things to screw terminals; it's +++ to safety).
Koz Ross
@3dprinting Now, to be fair, this board does have one very notable downside: it uses JST PH connectors _everywhere_. Those things are a real pain to work with, as crimping them is fiddly and annoying. However, this might just be when I learn to solder: you can buy precrimped PHs for not too much money (or re-use some you already have lying around), and then solder join your wires.
Koz Ross
3. I don't have to use CAN if I don't want to. The H36 allows you to run a USB line for data, and two power lines (live and ground), while also having an X30 connector (which is motion rated and thus doesn't have issues that USB alone would). You can still use CAN if you want, but I figured taking one more layer out of the system can only be a good thing.
4. The board is _extremely_ well-documented, down to an _interactive_ BOM on their Github.
(cont)
Koz Ross
@3dprinting Notably, I have finally relented on the use of a toolhead PCB. The reason? I finally found one that I don't think is terrible: https://wiki.fysetc.com/H36_Combo/
Why is this one good enough to convince me?
1. Its MCU is rated for 125C, instead of the 85 or so of most of its competitors. As someone who's had a toolhead PCB fry due to inadequate temp management, this is a non-negotiable thing for me.
2. It has a ridiculous amount of IO. There's _four_ fans on it!
(cont)
Koz Ross
@mia @amd @3dprinting "But Koz, weren't you just saying how much you love the DB?"
Yes, I was, and I still think that the DB is a good toolhead. However, for a Trident, it's definitely far from optimal, especially given how I chose to wire it. The Xol is better suited for this use case, and it also gives me an excuse to improve a bunch of other things on Catboat-1 that aren't great at the moment.
Rich Felker
@koz @3dprinting You can crimp two wires in the ferrule from opposite sides then put heatshrink over it. I guess you could crimp it just like a butt connector if you can't get the square/hexagonal tool around it topologically, but that's the aspect I like of using them.
Koz Ross
@dalias @3dprinting I have access to butt connectors. How would one abuse ferrules for this purpose?
I suspect I'm just bad at crimping honestly, lol.
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