6951	2011-12-05 10:02:33	dnorbury	Ribbon cable stripping and connectors
Message	Date	From	Subject
I've built several projects recently with LCD displays. These would have been perfect applications for 16 line ribbon cable. I didn't have any at the time so I used 16 separate wires. Pretty messy! I've since found some ribbon cable and am wondering the best way to strip the wires (without cutting some of them off!) Is there a good tool for this? Also, I think right angle cable connectors would be even more convenient than simply soldering the individual wires to the board and may not require stripping the ends. Is this correct? If so, how do you prepare the cable and where is a good place to buy them? Thanks for any advice, 73, Dave, KD6A
6952	2011-12-05 14:45:36	kb1gmx	Re: Ribbon cable stripping and connectors

6955	2011-12-05 19:36:45	popmedkoh	Re: Ribbon cable stripping and connectors

6956	2011-12-05 20:06:57	ka7exm	Re: Ribbon cable stripping and connectors
Here's another thought on connecting a bus of traces from LCD to PCB: I had this issue with a project a few years ago. I was going to eventually design a PC board to go with the project. I decided to incorporate the PCB and the LCD as one mechanical assembly. The pads from one would eventually mate up to the other vertically. After the prototype worked great ugly-style, the PCB was drawn and fabricated. The LCD is bolted on to the back of the PCB and then the leads from 1/4W resistors served as the connectors between the two boards. Fortunately all the traces are aligned up, 1:1 between the boards. Just a thought. (And yes I have a bunch of ribb
6958	2011-12-06 06:49:29	George Weaver	Re: Ribbon cable stripping and connectors
If you really need to strip ribbon cable, something like this would seem to be the ticket: http://www.knipex.com/en/pliers-abc/how-does-it-work-animated-graphics/12-42-195-self-adapting-universal-insulation-stripper http://www.knipex.com/en/pliers-abc/how-does-it-work-animated-graphics/12-40-200-self-adjusting-insulation-stripper I haven't tried them, but it seems to me that you could slit the insulation between conductors with a knife or scissors every N conductors where N is the number of conductors that will fit under the stripper blade, then use this tool to repeatedly strip N conductors at a time. If you make the depth of your slits the same as the depth of the strip you should have a fairly clean looking end to work with. The Knipex strippers aren't cheap - best price I see online is around $70. Cheaper variants appear to be available, but some of the customer reviews aren't kind: http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/WCS190A/WIRE-STRIPPER http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Wire-Stripper-Cutter-Wellmax/dp/B003VSSTBU Note that the 2 products above appear to be exactly the same tool. Caveat emptor. I have no experience with any of them. -George, KB3ODH
6961	2011-12-06 06:50:16	George Weaver	Re: Ribbon cable stripping and connectors
I find that the jaws of my Panavise are pretty effective at crimping IDC connectors onto ribbon cables - haven't missed yet. Orient the Panavise so that the jaws open vertically, gently sandwich the connector halves and cable between the jaws, triple-check that the individual conductors are aligned with the connector's blades, then screw it tight. No need to strip - the connector's forked blades are precision spaced to pierce the insulation at exactly the right spot so as to contact only one conductor each. Note that there is generally a mark, often a triangle, on the connector body to show you where pin 1 is. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pin_1_idc.png) When completed, run a sharp utility knife blade down the edge of the connector to trim any excess cable and scrutinize the cut end under a lighted magnifier to be certain there are no wire hairs that can cause shorts. -George, KB3ODH