5 ms·

Here I am, crimping wires for a 3D printer that will draw at most a quarter of the current, and NVIDIA is just giving out connectors with shoddily soldered conn

by dvdkon 4y ago

Here I am, crimping wires for a 3D printer that will draw at most a quarter of the current, and NVIDIA is just giving out connectors with shoddily soldered connections? Shame! It also looks like they think strain relief is optional. EDIT: This is a crimped wire for ATX power connectors: https://modmymods.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/a86a6471cd126c7d06b2a398b3c8a4ae/3/0/30cm-mf-orange-1.jpg https://modmymods.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/a8... Notice that the insulation is also crimped, making sure that the actual electrical connection doesn't flex.

NotYourLawyer 4y ago
Soldering is perfectly fine, if you do it correctly.
- programmer_dude 4y ago
  It's not fine if it's going to melt.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    It will only melt if it’s either undersized or a bad joint to begin with. A properly-sized, well-made solder joint will have no reason to melt unless heated externally by something else failing.
- jmole 4y ago
  soldering is a terrible idea for cables that need to flex, which is why you’ll typically only find them used in applications with major strain relief, or inside non-user-serviceable enclosures (e.g. inside an ATX PSU)
  - snovv_crash 4y ago
    You need strain relief either way, soldering or crimping. A well soldered joint will have lower resistance than a crimped one and be more resistant to vibrations.
    - jmole 4y ago
      In most applications crimping offers better vibration resistance and better conductance. Most solder is on the order of 10x as resistive as pure copper, or more. Welding can be better than solder or crimp, but it's uncommon except for applications like wire-bonding and battery cell termination. In general, any application where you have a fixed end on one side and a free end on another (wire to board, wire to panel, wire to X), a crimp termination is by far the better choice.
      - snovv_crash 4y ago
        The actual amount of contact area in a soldered joint is much higher though. The crimped joint will have the tangent of each strand on the connector, for lots of tiny little contact points. Soldering, you can take the same contact points but also add the higher resistance solder for all of the area in between, dramatically increasing the cross sectional area of the contact.
- bayindirh 4y ago
  Soldering is not the correct solution for high power/current applications. Car manufacturers openly instruct "do not solder, use included crimp connectors" for fuel injector wiring repairs for example.
  - jefftk 4y ago
    I'd be wary about extrapolating from cars or other vehicles: they expose their components to far more vibration and shocks than is typical in a house or datacenter.
    - bayindirh 4y ago
      As an HPC system administrator who also works on hardware, I'd say that the servers' life are equally hard from power and temperature perspective. Their life is not easier because they are not vibrating. A server under max load 7/24/365 is really testing its design limits.
      - sudosysgen 4y ago
        Sure, but vibration affects solder joints in a way that a server at max load doesn't.
    - sangnoir 4y ago
      Counterpoint: cars don't get their cables moved about so often, or bent at sharp angles for aesthetic reasons. Soldering without additional strain relief is a terrible idea - even for low currents.
      - LegitShady 4y ago
        car cables move all the time when cars are driving.
        sangnoir 4y ago
        I never said they don't - rereading, I should have used the word "manipulated", because I meant "moved (by a person)": a PC[1] gets opened more frequently often than a car hood. 1. Especially a pc with an RTX 40X0 card - because only enthusiasts are buying them at this point.
fatneckbeardz 4y ago
600 watts is an extraordinary amount of power for these tiny cables/connectors, thats something id think would be something like an Anderson Powerpole , or XT 90, or some kind of high power connector if i was building a little robot or something.
- jetbalsa 4y ago
  I'm really surprised they didn't do something like a XT90 with some signal wires on it. I've seen IEC Cables with more girth than these things.
- gw99 4y ago
  Just a heads up. Powerpoles melt too. Nasty things.
- DannyBee 4y ago
  Only at 12v. Even microblade molex (really small) are 250v/2.5amp, and so have no trouble with 500w. The wire insulation is rated much lower than the connector (105C vs 170C). You will certainly melt the wires before the connector. At a higher voltage, these wires would be fine for purpose.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

by dvdkon 4y ago

NotYourLawyer 4y ago

Soldering is perfectly fine, if you do it correctly.

programmer_dude 4y ago
It's not fine if it's going to melt.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  It will only melt if it’s either undersized or a bad joint to begin with. A properly-sized, well-made solder joint will have no reason to melt unless heated externally by something else failing.
jmole 4y ago
soldering is a terrible idea for cables that need to flex, which is why you’ll typically only find them used in applications with major strain relief, or inside non-user-serviceable enclosures (e.g. inside an ATX PSU)
- snovv_crash 4y ago
  You need strain relief either way, soldering or crimping. A well soldered joint will have lower resistance than a crimped one and be more resistant to vibrations.
  - jmole 4y ago
    In most applications crimping offers better vibration resistance and better conductance. Most solder is on the order of 10x as resistive as pure copper, or more. Welding can be better than solder or crimp, but it's uncommon except for applications like wire-bonding and battery cell termination. In general, any application where you have a fixed end on one side and a free end on another (wire to board, wire to panel, wire to X), a crimp termination is by far the better choice.
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      The actual amount of contact area in a soldered joint is much higher though. The crimped joint will have the tangent of each strand on the connector, for lots of tiny little contact points. Soldering, you can take the same contact points but also add the higher resistance solder for all of the area in between, dramatically increasing the cross sectional area of the contact.
bayindirh 4y ago
Soldering is not the correct solution for high power/current applications. Car manufacturers openly instruct "do not solder, use included crimp connectors" for fuel injector wiring repairs for example.
- jefftk 4y ago
  I'd be wary about extrapolating from cars or other vehicles: they expose their components to far more vibration and shocks than is typical in a house or datacenter.
  - bayindirh 4y ago
    As an HPC system administrator who also works on hardware, I'd say that the servers' life are equally hard from power and temperature perspective. Their life is not easier because they are not vibrating. A server under max load 7/24/365 is really testing its design limits.
    - sudosysgen 4y ago
      Sure, but vibration affects solder joints in a way that a server at max load doesn't.
  - sangnoir 4y ago
    Counterpoint: cars don't get their cables moved about so often, or bent at sharp angles for aesthetic reasons. Soldering without additional strain relief is a terrible idea - even for low currents.
    - LegitShady 4y ago
      car cables move all the time when cars are driving.
      - sangnoir 4y ago
        I never said they don't - rereading, I should have used the word "manipulated", because I meant "moved (by a person)": a PC[1] gets opened more frequently often than a car hood. 1. Especially a pc with an RTX 40X0 card - because only enthusiasts are buying them at this point.

fatneckbeardz 4y ago

600 watts is an extraordinary amount of power for these tiny cables/connectors, thats something id think would be something like an Anderson Powerpole , or XT 90, or some kind of high power connector if i was building a little robot or something.

jetbalsa 4y ago
I'm really surprised they didn't do something like a XT90 with some signal wires on it. I've seen IEC Cables with more girth than these things.
gw99 4y ago
Just a heads up. Powerpoles melt too. Nasty things.
DannyBee 4y ago
Only at 12v. Even microblade molex (really small) are 250v/2.5amp, and so have no trouble with 500w. The wire insulation is rated much lower than the connector (105C vs 170C). You will certainly melt the wires before the connector. At a higher voltage, these wires would be fine for purpose.

deleted 4y ago

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