Like most machines, I’ve had to replace the terminal connections since they came default with tinned wires. This video walks you through the process of doing so for the CR10 V3.
“Tinned wires, on the other hand, can make the wires more susceptible to vibration, loosening, and corrosion…”
UN-tinned wires are more susceptible to vibration, loosening and corrosion. That’s why we tin (solder) them. The solder, properly applied, wicks in between the wire strands holding them all together and will wick up under the insulation, binding the wires all the way from the tip to under the insulation. It’s the most solid connection you can make. It does, however, take some skill to do it well, and it’s time-consuming to do in bulk.
Ferrules, on the other hand, were developed as a faster method of binding the wire strands. However, they don’t fill the gaps between the wires (although it does squish them quite a bit) and as such, oxygen still gets in between them and they will still corrode (but it takes years).
Just keep in mind that ferrules are not a substitute for good wiring practice.
There are two problems ferrules bring to the table.
- They create a potential mechanical stress on the board-edge connectors. Those connectors are often sized to barely fit the intended wire. Adding a ferrule makes the wire end thicker which can make them difficult to get push into a terminal. If the board they are being used on was designed with ferrules in mind (ie. has terminals that were intended for the next larger wire size) then this isn’t a problem, but many cheap boards will get away with the smallest/cheapest terminal they can and that usually doesn’t account for ferrules.
- Ferrules are rigid and extend the effective length of the terminal by 4 to 5mm. By that, I mean that a terminal is rigidly attached to the edge of a board and the wire coming out of it can flex immediately upon leaving the terminal. With a ferrule on the end, the wire can’t begin to flex for another half a cm. If the enclosure is designed with that in mind, it’s not a problem, but I have one printer on my workbench at the moment where adding ferrules forced the wires to kink badly at the wall of the enclosure, putting pressure on the terminals and pinning the wires between the edge of the ferrule’s sheath and the enclosure wall. I’m seriously uncomfortable with this given that ferrule sheathes have fairly thin, but rigid edges; are pressing tightly against the wires soft insulation; and printers vibrate so I can see where the ferrule sheath will eventually cut through the insulation. I’m having to replace the enclosure.
For my own part, I use ferrules, but I tin the wire first.
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I actually found another solution although it isn’t as good as the ferrules but it does work if the area is too tight between the terminal and the wall. I’ve used male pin connectors to hold the wire strans together and then covered the bent base with heat shrink tubing. I made sure to cut off any excess.
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