Cable braiding tutorial

[colax]

I am planning on going with the heat shrink free look, it looks nice and seems rather easy.


Shrinkless method;
http://youtu.be/tFUDqEvhmho

 

[Stalker_26]

good find on the vid!
But i have a problem with one part - when he measures out the cord, he tells you to stretch it out - you shouldn't, Paracord doesn't stretch, if you do stretch it, as soon as you let go it springs back to its relaxed state.
Other than that its a cracking find, really need to know what he used for his 'Anti Tangle Tool' lol

 

[MonsterMoshi]

You need to pull it tight
Not stretch as such

Just had a practice of this method on an extension I had
Really impressed with the results
I have used MDPC before but this is sooo much better
Pictures don't do it justice

 

[Stalker_26]

lookis like i might be re-doing my cables again!!

 

[mumihp]

Thanks for this guide, I wanted to learn how to do Cable braiding, but when I built my first PC few years back, I never did it back then as it wouldn't work with my PSU. But I am planning to update my PC with some new components. With my current PSU, it won't work but when I do get a modular PSU, this guide will come in handy.

 

[Tom Martow]

I'm planning on doing some extensions for the motherboard and graphics card. To save making a new thread is there anywhere to buy an already crimped cable to a specific length?

Thanks.

 

[2013]

Thanks for the tutorial

 

[pigeonguyuk]

Just though id share my experience. I had ordered Braiding from EBay and some basic tools.
First Attempt- Was on a XFX PSU. - Result= Failure and gave up

Second Attempt- Order New Tools and a little Braiding from MDPC-X

Result, well it now seems easy.. I now have a Superflower PSU, DAMN is it very easy to remove pins from the Crystal Connectors as you can see the pins.

Nope it was also easy to use on the Non crystal ends. Im not sure it its the better designed tool and/or a combination of the tools and the build quality of the PSU.

Will definately be ordering enough braiding to give it a proper go

Edit
20m of Braid Ordered and some coloured Heatshrink ordered

 

[Mark This Day]

I have braided LOTS of cables in the past, from 24pin atx extensions through to the little motherboard speaker!
The best thing i have found to use is 550 Paracord, which can be picked up for around a fiver for 50ft of it.
The coverage it offers is unrivalled - *completely* and its very easy to work with.
It is however very snag prone but a bit of practice works wonders.

Sleeving a 24pin ATX extension can be time consuming but there are tricks i picked up along my way.

Paracord does not stretch, at all lol.
*Cut the cord longer than required, possibly to the point where you think its a touch too long.
*Remove the pins from the female end only (on the 24 pin)
*Slide on your pre cut heat shrink, then your cord.
*Slide the cord half way along the cable, position your heatshrink in place, and heat it - Yes, the process does seem odd, but bear with me.
*Once its sealed and cooled, firmly hold the un corded cable and the heat shrink, and twist in one hand, as if you are spinning the cord around the cable. this will break the heat seal between the heat shrink and cables protective covering, once done, push the shrunk heat shrink down as far as possible, now you have one side sorted.
so, we move the the other end:
*Push the rest of the cord onto the cable - fully, then add your heat shrink. position it in the required spot, heat it, job done - cable sleeved.
Doing this method allowed me to sleeve a 24pin in less than 30 minutes - start to finish.
I also used 2 straightened staples, with the top 1/4 bent over to form an L shape, and a pair of needle nosed pliers.
tools i used.

Female connector end

Male connector end

Was this one perfect? not exactly, it does take some getting used to but its easy enough to pick up.
Another thing i would heavily recommend is to strecth the end of the heat shrink

Great guide mate very informative

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Absolutely superb guide, I've learnt so much. I'll definitely have to give this a try, the trouble is, whenever I get home I'm generally using my computer, so it means it'll have to be out of action while I do it...

 

[Stalker_26]

Get your hands on some PCI-e extensions or a dead PSU and have a few test runs

 

[2013]

Thanks for the tut.

 

[fallenangle]

I'm probably looking at having to braid some flat SATA data cables in yellow, both ones with straight and right-angle plugs. What I'm not sure after reading the tutorial is what type of braiding to use.

It suggest using 6mm with 12mm expansion capabilities - how do I know if the type being supplied does expand to this size. None I've found mention anything about this.

Also what is the recommended heatshrink diameter bearing in mind that the pictures in the tut show the ideal way is to have the heatshrink around part of the SATA plug as well as the cable? I would have thought 6mm heatshrink wouldn't fit over the plugs even with careful stretching but if you used 12mm (2:1) it is not going hold tight to the 6mm diameter braiding is it?

Any advice appreciated.

Edit:-

Found this very helpfull YT video which shows how to do it but AFAIK doesn't mention the diameter of the braid or heatshrink. The included web site link works but the product links there appear to be dead so I'm hoping it is OK to post this. If not apologies:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7QYiu7pJis


BTW I suppose using 550 Paracord is not an option for SATA Data cables because of the fixed plugs?

 

[Twirlywoos]

Guys can someone please link me to some sleeving, tools, crimps and the correct connectors I need to do an entire OCZ ZS ATX (non modular) PSU?

The PSU is going into my neices Bitfinix Progidy build that I am doing for her and all the bits should arrive from OCUK tomorrow. My plan is to cut and shorten the cables so that there is no excess wires in the mITX build.

I need to get the build completed and couriered to her by Sep 8th so time is of the essence.

Thank You

 

[fallenangle]

Not sure if they can supply everything you want for that particular job but if you check post #31 the international/EU web site of the company mentioned has a lot of high quality braiding in sizes/colours and related tools.

Rather than faff around trying to find the right size braid and heatshrink for the job I mentioned I've just ordered from them. They have everything needed supplying braiding and heatshrink designed specifically for typical SATA data cables.

Not cheap, there's also a minimum spend and shipping isn't cheap either but what they sell looks like real quality stuff.

Hope this is some help for the PSU task.

 

[Solemn]

Can anyone suggest where i can get the high quality braid from MDPC-X doesnt seem to be available anymore.

Thanks

 

[fallenangle]

Can anyone suggest where i can get the high quality braid from MDPC-X doesnt seem to be available anymore.

Thanks

I hope I've understood your post and you're not just saying MDPC-X doesn't supply the particular braiding that you require any more. If so, apologies and ignore the rest of this.

That was the place I was referring too in my recent post. I received my order from them just a couple of days ago.

Try Googling: MDPC-X International.

 

[davido_labido]

mdpc-x isnt trading at the moment due to moving locations...

google e22.biz you want the teleios sleeving - very good quality!

 

[Solemn]

thanks it looks great. Yes MDPC-X isn't trading at the moment, hence me asking for an alternative

I don't know if I am being a bit silly but what size heat shrink would you use for the individual 4mm braiding?

Thanks again!

 

[fallenangle]

mdpc-x isnt trading at the moment due to moving locations...

google e22.biz you want the teleios sleeving - very good quality!

Yes, thanks for pointing us at that alternative; wish I'd found out about it earlier. Should be very useful in the future.