I understand that the wiring of limit switches needs to be with shielded cable. Does this also apply to other wiring on the machine, motors, e stop, switches, etc.
Steppers should also be shielded, as they operate at high frequencies. If you are running a VFD spindle, that should be shielded also. For those not in the know, you only terminate the shield on the cable at one end. Terminating at both ends create a ground loop that can create more problems than it solves.
Normally closed is more resistant to noise than normally open. Higher voltage systems are also less prone. With that, one can usually get away with non-shielded conductors. As for the steppers, shielded is recommended to prevent noise from interfering with the pulse train from the driver. However, many use nonshielded conductors on their motors without problems. Imo, it comes down to cost and convenience. If you have a bunch of unshielded wire laying around you should probably just use that. If you have noise issues later you can swap it out. If for some reason it would be too big of a job to swap it out later then you may want to install shielded to begin with. Hope this helps. Joe
I bought shielded wire, both 18/2 and 18/4, like this from Home Depot.Southwire (By-the-Foot) 18-2 Gray Stranded CU Shield Security Cable 57573199 at The Home Depot - Mobile
I would like to upgrade to shielded cables, but I haven't found a good connector system yet that I like. Currently, I am using barrel jacks for everything. I can easily mount barrel jack screw terminals on panels either near the steppers or mounted next to my controller. And then I can get barrel jack cables of any length terminated with barrels and with stress relief for the connector. So I end up with a bunch of connections like this: Stepper -> Screw Terminal/Barrel -> Barrel Jack power wire -> Screw Terminal/Barrel -> Controller I'd like to replicate this with shielded wires. But I'm not too crazy on doing a bunch of soldering or custom crimp on terminals. Does anyone know of a connector system that has: (a) Pannel mountable screw terminals to connectors like this: Osepp Male DC Barrel Jack - 2 Pack | LS-00014 (LS00014) | Osepp (b) Pre-molded shielded cables of various lengths like this: DC Power Extension Cable 1.5m length with 2.5mm plug | JR8307-1.5M (JR83071.5M) | Distributed By MCM If so, please point me in the right direction. -Jonathon Duerig
Jonathan, Have you thought about using mini stereo microphone cables instead of barrel plugs. Microphone connectors are shielded. But, cables for small speakers, headphones, etc usually aren't . I have tons of mic cables and xlr connectors that I have decided to use that for the limit switches .
