Cable braiding tutorial

Been getting into this cable braiding thing, probably spending too much on it actually but one thing I've wanted to know is where others stand on braiding/re-sleeving case front panel leads?

I ask because the YouTube video I found on this never show the cables actually in place and the issue that concerned me is that the guy used heat-shrink over around 33% of the speaker, front LED and other header connector plugs.

It might look good but in my experience, limited though it is, those plugs are already very close to one another when plugged into to the MB front panel header array. I would have though two thicknesses of heat-shrink ie. two adjacent plugs is pushing it, quite literally.

Thoughts?

BTW I found that Teleios sleeving mentioned above didn't have a match for the MDPC-X yellow sleeving when I discovered I hadn't bought enough from MDPC-X. The latter are still 'reorganising' and not available for business. So, after several expensive mistakes I eventually found UK sources selling, although not quite colour matching, quality, dense weave coloured sleeving very similar to MDPC-X. Far cheaper delivery too.

The nominally 10mm braid is slightly wider than MDPC-X's purpose design SATA sleeving but seems to tighten around the flat cable just as effectively. If I'd discovered this alternative earlier I would have used it for everything but now, having carefully sleeved five SATA cables in MDPC-X sourced sleeving the not quite matched colour of this alternative would cheapen the look. So I guess I have to wait until MDPC-X stuff is available again. :(

I'm not sure whether I can post the link here so I won't but if you Google (UK) "dense weave matte yellow cable braiding" you'll find the supplier and other resellers.
 
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Still waiting for MDPC-X to return as I've still not been able to source any of the 3 - 4mm braiding I'd like for my case fans which properly matches MDPC-X's yellow braid I used for my SATA cables.

I really wish I had used Teleios sleeving or an equivalent from one of the other UK sellers of quality high density coloured braid instead.
 
I looked into braiding my more ugly cables a long time ago and I never did it.

Finally I've just ordered a load of braiding, shrink wrap and some back molex connectors to replace the ugly standard colour ones.

:D
 
Good luck with it all - it's quite addictive trying to get it to look just right, particularly the heat-shrink.

One tip that I found in a YT video for fan cable sleeving is to use super-glue in places where the heat-shrink on its own really won't be able hold the braiding sufficiently tightly. Not ordinary super-glue though: one with a built in applicator so you can get it exactly where you want. I didn't know such a product was available and I have found it very useful for my own braiding projects. However its permanence does mean you have to get everything perfect and done very quickly first time.
 
Yes, my initial order was just so ic an do the ugly power cable and connector for my pump.

I then added more and more items to cover SATA and FAN cables. So yes I got carried away. Ended up spending £20 :)

I'll make sure I have a watch of some YT videos on the subject before diving right in
 
Well my first attempt went pretty well. I did three fan cables and a pump cable. Looks much better. I failed to take any pictures tough sadly!

Pleased with the results :)
 
Just started on a fan cable myself. A test on a fan bought for just this purpose.

Much more complex than the YT video I found on this subject. The guy in that was using a Coolermaster fan which has a far simpler cable retaining sytem than the Akasa fans I want to sleeve.

Because the Akasas use a full radius gutter under the retaining tabs to protect the wires from the fan blades rather than just under and over cable retainer tabs you can't braid the cable from the centre hub to side of the fan mount. There is simply not enough room under the tabs. You'd have to cut/file away the tabs and lay the braided cable flat in the gutter. To retain it there glue seems like the only solution - far from ideal. Still working on alternative ideas for this.

For some bizarre reason the Akasa fans come with with dung brown or cream header plugs. Replacement matching black ones ie. 4 pin fan plugs with tab location guides are not easy to source in the UK. Most don't have the tab guides or extended them to the full height of the plug. This means heat shrink will look pretty ugly. Luckily the Chinese (HK) came to the rescue and I got a pack of 10 with crimp pin sets (F) as well.

That's another thing: the Akasa fan plugs crimp pins seem to use a unique locking system - a bent solid tab rather than a flexing spring catch on the back. This means that if you try to pull the pins out without having flattened the tab entirely it will catch and be bent upright making flattening it again and removal very difficult. After bending one tab too many times it broke so I took the decison to cut off all 4 crimp pins and replace them. Not a task I'm looking foward too.

I probably should have used one of those, far from cheap, purpose designed removal tools. But I didn't . :(
 
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The pin removal tools are expensive for what they actually are.

I've made my own removal tool for male molex pins but so far I haven't needed to remove cables for any other connectors.

I did a couple of my SATA cables last night. I'll finish the rest off tonight hopefully :)
 
I dont know if this is a stupid question or not but would someone be able to give me an answer please?
I ordered the Corsair pre-braided kits awhile ago in red but now im thinking i want a little black in there. So im thinking about using the original black cables i got with the corsair psu and just pusing each cable i want out and replacing it with a black one? Will this work? instead of braiding them myself (if you understand what i mean)
 
topgun06 said:
The pin removal tools are expensive for what they actually are.

I've made my own removal tool for male molex pins but so far I haven't needed to remove cables for any other connectors.

I did a couple of my SATA cables last night. I'll finish the rest off tonight hopefully :)
Click to expand...

I made a crimp removal tool myself today out of on old mini-screwdriver and it worked OK on another Akasa fan and removed the pins without damage.

Unfortunately my crimping skills on the replacement pins for the fan I mentioned earlier are still sadly lacking and I've already wasted four pins and shortened the fan wires more than I wanted.

Also, for finish reasons and to get a colour match with my much more successful SATA braiding, I have to use double braid layering. Thanks to the samples they provided I finally settled on Telios 4mm Grey underneath and 4mm Yellow on top as an almost perfect match for the MDPC-X yellow braided black SATA cables.

But that double layering has caused a number of other practical problems, not least determining the different lengths of the braiding sleeves required to keep it looking neat.

It would have been so much easier (and cheaper) if I'd done everything in black. I'd really recommend anyone sleeving with this type of braid for the first time do this. If you're looking for professional quality results adding a colour element into the mix complicates things a great deal.

This sort of trouble is the reason why I bought a spare fan to practice on. However I have to admit that unless I get a really good finish on it I'm going off the the whole idea of doing my actual case fans. There are seven of those plus extension cables - too much extra cost and work that I can't do to the standard I want.

I'll just stick to the SATA cables and the ones I can do without the same sort of hassle.
 
Hey all, going to start a new build soon and going for a black/blue theme throughout with maybe some white highlights, so looking for black/blue sleeving on my cables. Would i be better grabbing some paracord and doing it myself or should i get a different material? Do love a good timesink every now and again OR am i better just black and blue pre-braided extentions? cheers all
 
After having problems with pin extraction (and crimping) the various M/F ATX pins I was wondering if there are any pin purpose designed extraction tool sets worth buying.

So many seem to be the same generic type just rebranded. They all get simply appalling user reviews with apparently experienced cable modders recommending everything from paper clips to flattened staples instead.

Indeed for single fan plug pin removal I've found a sliver of stiff plastic cut from a cheap school set-square works quite well. Unlike metal based alternatives it doesn't scratch or dig into the pin's surface.

However it is slow doing each pin idividually and I often snap the plastic so it is far from ideal. Now I also would like to get some fan extension/splitter male pins out of the receiving female plug connector. Apparently these need a long, very thin, pointy tool and apart from the paper clip suggestion I can't find any DIY alternative that works.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Also I wanted to mention here that for crimping fan plug pins and similar that I've found the most commonly sold crimping tools out there in UK DIY shops/general online retailers are far from ideal. The problem seems to be the 'teeth' part of the jaws pressing the pin into the die crushes it. No matter how much you adjust them they do this.

The one tool I've found that addresses this problem (the make I suspect I can't mention here because it is supplied by another specialist PC hardware company) has concave milled jaws to prevent this crushing yet still folds over the wings and holds the wire properly.

I can't justify the cost of these crimpers myself but if you are seriously into this sort of cable modding thing they appear to be the only ones available at 'reasonable' cost capable of producing professional looking results with these very small pin types.

If anyone knows of a cheaper alternative they're getting consistently good crimps with on fan plug and MB header pins then please share.
 
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Go to YouTube and search for PC fan or other cable modding. There is one guy whose cable modding guides stand out and one focuses on crimping ATX type pins. That should lead you to what is probably the best crimping tool available at a sensible price.

Whether that particular crimping tool can be sourced in the UK I don't know. The US cost is around $50 so expect it to retail here at anything up to £50, maybe even more, if you can even find it.

I described the important design these crimpers use earlier ^^.

There was a crimping tool recommended in a 2011 thread on this forum but whether you can get them anywhere now I have no idea. From the pictures it looks as though it too does have the concave milled jaw 'teeth' which seems to be so important for crimping ATX pins without crushing them.

HT-225D Full Cycle Ratchet Crimp Tool

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=20634717
 
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I actually found and bought one of those previously recommended HT-225D Full Cycle Ratchet Crimpers from Ebay (UK). Easily found.

It does crimp ATX pins (ie. those used in fan and other MB header plugs) notably better than the cheaper, more generic type one that I'd bought and had been using. The retaining wings for both the connection and strain relief sections of the pin are folded over the wire much more neatly. They hold the wire firmly but I should say that was not a problem with the cheaper crimpers either.

However whilst the larger 18AWG - 22AWG die of the HT-225D, for Molex size connectors, does have a concaved millled 'tooth' the other, ATX pin (24AWG - 30AWG) size die, does not. Therefore it still does the same thing to the pin ie. the back is crushed during the crimp however you adjust it.

In practice this doesn't really matter as the pin (at least the pins used in fan plugs) still slides firmly but easily into the retaining plug socket.

It might make a difference if you are trying to use replacement 20AWG 16/0.2 wire, rather than the usual UK/EU standard/fitted 24AWG 7/0.2 or 22AWG 7/0.25 fan wire, as that has a larger diameter. In raw state 20AWG 16/0.2 wire just fits into a fan/header plug pin socket but when crushed the insulation 'muffins' out making it almost impossible to use.

In short: the HT-225D crimper works well for ATX pins but doesn't give what anyone could call a factory quality ATX crimp result. When used correctly it gives very firm and neat results but still, like the other cheap crimpers, it crushes the pin.

It seems to prove for sure that accurate concave milling of the 'tooth' used to press the ATX pin into the die and, perhaps, its width as well are vital if you want to achieve that sort of result. As far as I know, in what I would call the (just) acceptable amateur price range, only the crimpers supplied by those previously mentioned US/EU sources have this feature.
 
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How to braid your own cables?

I've seen people on build logs braiding their own psu cables and stuff and would really like some but seem quite expensive and i'd like the challenge of doing it myself.

So my question is, how hard is it? How long does it take? What do you need?

I'd like to get/make some red ones that would go quite nicely with my build. I need something to keep myself occupied over the Easter Holidays, as i can't seem to sit at my computer and game for hours on end at the moment.

EDIT:

I've just found this awesome guide!
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18280993

Although, My PSU cables are really long from PSU to components, i'm going to need a lot of braided stuff... Hmm..
 
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