You can make XT-90s or any of the push on connectors like that easier to slide in and out by squeezing the pins on the plugs with some needle nose pliers. It’s a bit of a balancing act, but you can push them out from the middle by squeezing the pliers into the hole in the center of the connector, for the most part it’s the tension in the metal parts holding the connector together the plastic creates very little friction by itself.
It’s an interesting idea for sure… I think I like being able to take my XT-90 with me though as a sort of a key, someone could still just jack the board but I like that they see me remove something from it when I walk away for a minute and gives me peace of mind it can’t accidentally get connected somehow.
The AS150 connector, does anyone have any concerns with something? if you do please write them down and tell me so i can improve the design to make it as bulletproof as possible.
My greatest concerns with these sort of switches is the plastic gripping the connector wearing out and then you’re stuck with an always on switch.
Might be worth thinking of small metal collars which surround the connector around specific points. These collars will give the plastic bigger surface areas to work against for better durability.
Hi again, i’m currently looking at the height of the slide button and how far out it should be protruding from the enclosure, so I would like to know how thick your enclosure are?
My estimate is approx 3mm thick on most ABS enclosures.
And with current design the slide will be protrude 7mm, would you want it to be more? would you want a visible or hidden approach?
First prototype assembled, some tolerances to change otherwise OK,
I’m actually back at the drawingboard after realizing how much force that is needed to connect these kinds of connectors.
So therefore I’m back at a push style instead of slide and back at xt90-s, so currently the thing on my 3d printer atm actually is an almost regular looking panel mount for xt90s but with a feature where after/during connection you recess the loopkey inside the enclosure to make it less visible/protruding.
I’ll try to make a more informational rendering tomorrow after i get some sleep
So this is the latest design using the XT90-S connector, the design on this holder is to recess the xt90 loopkey after insertion and hiding it inside the enclosure.
The holder uses 6 neodymium magnets to hold the connector in either recessed position or protruding position. And currently the fastening of the connectors inside the 3d printed part is done via superglue and friction.
Currently the fastening to the case are done via 4 m3 screws, the part will sit inside the enclosure for now, no collar.
The only thing sticking out of the board in a powered on state is the little head with a bit of a texture to it.
A few more pictures
So the thing now that i’m waiting for before releasing something is to get my wires from hobbyking(10awg) and solid copper wire (10awg) and soldering the connector to make sure that the cable wont pinch when recessing the connector. I’m also waiting to get my board together (battery and enclosure coming this week) to test it out and see if it actually works in a real life environment.
Something i’ve been wondering about is how far away you need to “store” the connectors in a design like that, is it a possibility that they will spark if they are too close? and what is too close?