This connector is very common in the filmmaking industry. It’s also the pest connector ever. Flimsy, bulky, awkward, and hard to assemble. So I redesigned it and 3D printed it.
How how could that sucker get? It looks like it’s got some beefy connections. Any worries about melting?
It’s CF PETg, if you reach the 250°c melting temp, you’re probably having some other more serious issues than the connector melting lol. This is carrying 12v 10a tops at peak draw (that’s the max most batteries used can provide). The original D-tap is ABS, often of questionable quality, I’m considering using ABS, nylon, or ASA as alternatives but I have much more experience with this CF-PETg filament.
nice! that looks great. Any downsides compared to the original?
It’s still very early, I only printed a couple of them as alpha tests and haven’t given any to others to test on set. So far the issue is that I have to re-do all my P-tap cables with this new connector hehe. The things I will focus on is proper fitting without getting stuck or falling out, which also happens on regular connectors due to the bad bad bad core design that even my version can’t really solve, like no locking like P-Tap, and the fact that v+ can connect before GND pin, causing issues with sensitive devices. But again that’s inherent to all D-Tap connectors, and can’t be solved short of switching to Lemo.
That looks sick! What was the biggest hurdle with the new design?
Making it all fit in the smallest form factor while still reusing already existing hardware was the hard part. The placement of the screw for instance, it’s one perimeter away from one of the internal walls. This design had been in my mind for a while now, and I put it on fusion in a few hours after grabbing the measurements of an original connector model. It’s not the most complicated model I ever made, but it’s the smallest with this many details and elements to interweave.
I like it but for me when plugging into a v-mount battery, I like the angled connection since the cable can go down along the battery. Still, very interesting redesign!
The connector is shorter than the original, and with the flexible cables I use it actually end up being about the same size when you guide the cable to the side. What I hate with the side cable is that it’s never on the right side of me and changing side in the connector means a complete re-solder of the connector.
