HP-IL cable clones?

[John Ioannidis]

(11-11-2014 11:22 AM)Martin Hepperle Wrote:  Looking into the matter yields the following costs:
- male and female pins are available for about $2 each, so $8 for one cable.
- using a 3d printing service for the casing shells costs about $5 per connector,
- 1 meter of a suitable cable maybe $2 per cable,
=> the total material cost per cable would then be about $20-25 and you have to assemble it yourself.
The numbers above also include shipping costs.

I will write a Do-It-Yourself article describing how to make your won cables. A small number of kits may be offered through the classifieds section in 2015.

Martin

Have you found the part numbers at Mouser or Digikey? They would be very useful, as searching their catalogs (esp. Digikey's) is an exercise in frustration.

That said, I purchased my very own Ultimaker 2 3D printer in late november (I'm still waiting for it... echoes of HP calculators in the late 70s not being available for weeks after being announced...). Making HPIL cable housings should be a breeze if someone tells me what the corresponding part numbers for the connectors and wire.

Shapelock sounds good in theory, but it's a bitch to work with for small parts. Ditto for hot glue.