Broke cable off on disc printer, any help ?

[Zammo]

So when I was fixing a disc printer/duplicator I accidentally pulled out or broke a cable. Please bear in mind I know very little about electronics, when I say "fixing" I literally mean unscrewing a couple of screws and replacing the DVD drive inside the duplicator, what would normally be a simple operation. I think when I re-put on the casing it must have caught the cable that controls the print tray. I have ordered up a replacement AVM 20624 80c 60v VW-1 F 4 pin cable but it will take a week to get to me, so in the mean time I am very curious if it will likely fit or even work.

Below are some images, the first 2 are showing the cable after it broke, the next 2 images are showing what it should look like in a unbroken machine. I have 2 of these disc duplicator printers but I am terrified of touching the working one as it is an important device and very expensive, so my back-up one is now the main and only working one. But I risked opening it up to just take a photo. What I find curious is on the working one it looks like the ends are folded up in the sockets, unless I am mistaken. Do the ends have to be curled/folded up to fit in there ? Maybe I am viewing it wrong, I don't dare pull the cable out. Also does it matter about which ends goes where, or are they like a SATA cable where it doesn't matter ?

Any ideas if replacing this cable will likely fix things ? Also how much does a different length cable matter ? For instance, if I used a 15cm cable to replace a 10cm cable, will the attenuation or speed be much different ? Given it is all robotics timing does matter as the disc goes from the disc drive to the print tray all in sequence and is timed.

Thanks for any help.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

A slightly longer cable would be fine, as long as it can't get in the way of any other part. It has probably not done any other harm, but the only way to know for sure is to try a new cable..

Many electronics distributers stock FPC leads such as that, have a look through such as Digikey or Mouser?

Examples on Digikey:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/flat-flex-ribbon-jumpers-cables/457?s=N4IgTCBcDaIGIAUDCACAxgQwEYBsCmIAugL5A

 

[Zammo]

Thanks. Does brand matter ? Mine is Sumitomo-G but is that irrelevant ? Also does it just slot in like a normal cable would ? I presume it matters which side is plugged in ?

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Brand should not matter, but It needs the matching pitch between the traces in the cable, to suit the connectors; there are several variations.

Yours appears to have had reinforcing tabs attached. I'm not sure how common those are?

FPC / FFC leads are often just bared at one side, and the connector has a clamp mechanism. Yours, with the reinforcement, appear to be for push-in connectors instead.

What contact pitch is the cable?

 

[Zammo]

Thanks. Well I used a ruler and it seems to be 1mm pitch from what I can tell. I know some can be 1.25mm with 4 pins and that width, so fingers crossed I got it right. Below is a link to the cable I ordered, do you think that will be okay ? It looked similar. My cable was approx 9cm in length. Do I just slot that in then do you think ?

sourcing map Flexible Flat Cable Extension Ribbon Cables 4 Pins 1.0mm Pitch 100mm for 3D Printer, DIY, Camera, Screen and DVD Player Connector A Type Pack of 20 : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

sourcing map Flexible Flat Cable Extension Ribbon Cables 4 Pins 1.0mm Pitch 100mm for 3D Printer, DIY, Camera, Screen and DVD Player Connector A Type Pack of 20 : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[rjenkinsgb]

It looks to be spot on, perfect!

 

[Zammo]

Thanks for all your help. The cable came much earlier than expected, today about 20 minutes ago, I just rushed to connect it AND IT WORKS, phew, I am so happy that a simple cable fixed it.

Thanks again for your help, gave me confidence it would work.