[concept] Silicone PC cables

[Enderman]

So I've had this idea for a long time, but haven't yet had time to do it.

 

Basically the idea is to use low-gauge silicone wire instead of regular sleeved cables.

I really like how thicker wires look like on stuff like RC or other high-current applications.

 

 

I cut up some of my 12ga noodle and it fits perfectly in the holes of a molex connector. The holes of a 6 or 8 or 24 pin connector are slightly smaller, so those might require 14ga instead of 12 (or maybe just shave off a bit of the insulation for the part that enters the connector)

The wire is thick enough to hold itself inside the connector very well, so no need for any heatshrink.

 

 

 

Some people mentioned the lettering would be bad, and it may be possible to find black or red wire without lettering, but I would want to use white and all white RC wire has lettering.

But, as you can see in the images, it is very easy to place the wires so that the lettering is invisible  or maybe some people would like the lettering for detail, idk

 

 

Here are some comparisons with regular PC cables, and some sleeved cables I had around:

 

 

No PC component needs wire this thick for current, so normal PC wires are usually very thin, such as 18ga or higher

 

 

What I like about silicone cables is how natural their curves are, and it is really easy to make them all low together without any need for sewing or cable clips

 

 

 

So yeah that's my idea

Hopefully in the future I will have time and money to make a full set of custom PSU cables, and I will use this method instead of going for the all-too-common sleeving.

 

*PS- the wire used for this test was used previously, its not new, so just ignore the imperfections in the silicone and the dust  

 

Let me know your thoughts  Thanks for reading!

 

[Luc401]

Yeah thats pretty cool dude, id like to see something built with it. I see your into RC's what do you race/have?

[Moonzy]

thats great and all

 

but why molex? `-`

you could use something more elegant as a model D:

[Senzelian]

11 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

thats great and all

 

but why molex? `-`

you could use something more elegant as a model D:

Molex isn't the only connector that I wish would disappear.
Why is not everything USB Type C already? 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

Molex isn't the only connector that I wish would disappear.
Why is not everything USB Type C already? 

Molex is really ugly imo

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, Senzelian said:

Molex isn't the only connector that I wish would disappear.
Why is not everything USB Type C already? 

coz people going to plug sata data into the psu 24 pin directly

[Senzelian]

13 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

coz people going to plug sata data into the psu 24 pin directly

The worst thing that could happen is that the person would create a thread on this forum asking why his new SSD doesn't show up in the BIOS. 
 

Just imagine how easy cable management would be with USB C...
You could use USB C for your monitor, keyboard, mouse, phone, tablet, notebook, graphics card, motherboard, external drives, internal drives, blu ray players, smart watch, speakers, and even your F*CKING BLUETOOTH NFC WIRELESS-CHARGING 4K TOASTER! ®

[Enderman]

36 minutes ago, Luc401 said:

Yeah thats pretty cool dude, id like to see something built with it. I see your into RC's what do you race/have?

I have a 99% modded/upgraded Traxxas rustler

Planning to switch to a 1/8th scale truggy in the future though, I want something a bit bigger

 

but I dont use 12ga cable on the rustler, this wiring is from a rc tracked vehicle I built a few years ago

 

33 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

thats great and all

 

but why molex? `-`

you could use something more elegant as a model D:

I had a bunch of cut off PSU connectors from many years ago, so I just removed the pins from one of those  

[Moonzy]

Just now, Senzelian said:

The worst thing that could happen is that the person would create a thread on this forum asking why his new SSD doesn't show up in the BIOS. 
 

Just imagine how easy cable management would be with USB C...
You could use USB C for your monitor, keyboard, mouse, phone, tablet, notebook, graphics card, motherboard, external drives, internal drives, blu ray players, smart watch, speakers, and even your F*CKING TOASTER!

now imagine you're the network guy and you're dealing with this

Spoiler

 

[RedWulf]

idk why but it makes it look so much more powerful, seems like a nightmare for cable management for flexibility reasons but it looks like a BEAST

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, RedWulf said:

idk why but it makes it look so much more powerful, seems like a nightmare for cable management for flexibility reasons but it looks like a BEAST

superworm cables are actually really flexible

only thing is that you need to tie them in position because they do not hold like regular stiff sleeved cables (like the white ones in my pic)

 

[Senzelian]

3 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

now imagine you're the network guy and you're dealing with this

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

Made possible with USB Type C! (Actually not...)

[Stefan1024]

They look really nice and they are eveb suited for oil submersion. You haven't started production did you?

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, Stefan1024 said:

They look really nice and they are eveb suited for oil submersion. You haven't started production did you?

lol no, i have like 5 other projects in progress

but I plan to make these custom PSU cables within the next year for sure

 

I found some good wire, 13 gauge 1296 strands, and with very small text (the image has the wire wrapped so you cant see any text lol)

[Omon_Ra]

20 hours ago, Enderman said:

What I like about silicone cables is how natural their curves are...

Sure you're talking about cables and not bewbs? 

 

Pretty cool idea. Have you tried the 24 pin connector? It seems like that one may be a bitch to get wired and then ran through your case (depending on your case obviously).

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

Sure you're talking about cables and not bewbs? 

 

Pretty cool idea. Have you tried the 24 pin connector? It seems like that one may be a bitch to get wired and then ran through your case (depending on your case obviously).

no the cables are very flexible, the only thing is that it seems 12ga will be ahrd to fit in the 12 pin holes because they are slightly smaller than molex

I'm currently unwiring a 24 pin plug and will do an additional test

[Enderman]

14 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

Sure you're talking about cables and not bewbs? 

 

Pretty cool idea. Have you tried the 24 pin connector? It seems like that one may be a bitch to get wired and then ran through your case (depending on your case obviously).

Yup, just tried the 24 pin and the holes are definitely too small for 12 AWG

 

14 AWG fits perfectly, just like the 12AWG fits in the molex connector

 

But I also tried cutting off 4 slices from the 12AWG insulation and I did manage to fit it into the 24 pin connector, so that may be an options still!

[vanished]

Bring on the 1000 W molex devices  

Seriously it looks so heavy duty now... I wonder if you could fit these into an 8 pin PCIe power cable?

[Enderman]

Just now, Ryan_Vickers said:

Bring on the 1000 W molex devices  

Seriously it looks so heavy duty now... I wonder if you could fit these into an 8 pin PCIe power cable?

I just tried that, look at the post right above yours, i posted it just now

 

these cables can do several hundred amps, so at 12v that would definitely be over 1000W

the molex connectors and pins would melt first though

[vanished]

Just now, Enderman said:

I just tried that, look at the post right above yours, i posted it just now

 

these cables can do several hundred amps, so at 12v that would definitely be over 1000W

the molex connectors and pins would melt first though

oh I didn't see any pictures so I guess I missed it.

Yeah I don't suppose those connectors would stand up very well, but at least it has the look!

[Enderman]

26 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

oh I didn't see any pictures so I guess I missed it.

Yeah I don't suppose those connectors would stand up very well, but at least it has the look!

I posted it at the exact same time you replied, you didnt miss it

[Enderman]

Update

 

I have found out that you can remove lettering on silicone cables by scraping it slightly with a sharp knife!

 

Not sure if some solvent would be easier, maybe I will try alcohol

 

but yeah, this should be pretty simple and easy to get the little text off the wire  

[vanished]

On 4/22/2016 at 11:30 AM, Enderman said:

Update

 

I have found out that you can remove lettering on silicone cables by scraping it slightly with a sharp knife!

 

Not sure if some solvent would be easier, maybe I will try alcohol

 

but yeah, this should be pretty simple and easy to get the little text off the wire  

Doesn't that leave a wavy flat scraped area?  Like this:

 

[Enderman]

On 4/22/2016 at 11:36 AM, Ryan_Vickers said:

Doesn't that leave a wavy flat scraped area?  Like this:

[removed]

Nope!

Instead of slicing horizontally like in that image, I put the knife vertically, so that it is perpendicular to the cable

 

Then with slight pressure, move the knife over the text

(if you apply too much pressure the knife will cut into the silicone)

 

I tried it on my cable and it is impossible to tell that there was text there before

There is no visible damage to the cable at all either

Edited July 16, 2017 by Ryan_Vickers
fixing my quote

[l__T__l]

Is this the kind of wire that stays in place when you bend it?