About the new 3D printed unscrewable plugs

So why unscrewable plugs?

1. Some people like to tinker and want the ability to potentially modify the cable.

2. Some people want future proofing built in. Your cable gets damaged - no problem, it's easily repairable.

3. People want to be easily reassured that attenuating resistors are present (they are, unless you specify you do not want them.)

4. *We* want to be able to fix plugs easily. I'm not infallible. I probably discover an issue during testing something once a week or so, it sounds easily fixable but when you're cramming every order into limited time, the post office's about to close and you've just discovered a fault it's...not fun.

5. These big plugs make producing BNC cabling much, much easier. All capacitors can now be crammed into a console end plug. 

6. People kept flinging mud at me for using glue. It's necessary to glue those clamshell cases together.... Until you don't have to because you quit using them.


- Why a 3D printed plug?

1. Well, we got sick of our suppliers increasingly bad quality control. The pins get thinner year on year as they try to save metal so - throw it out and do it over. We are COMPLETELY replacing SNES plugs with high resolution printed parts *soon*. We'll be using gold plated ROHS standard pins in our SNES connectors, and the plugs are as fat as official SNES versions. Lots of room for electronics in these plugs. We are not increasing the prices, either.

2. We want more room in the plug. The imported ones are tiny, presumably to save plastic. So at the least we are going as big as official plugs. We want to fit electronics in the console end plug and we want to do it now, not next year. We will be adding custom circuit boards down the line.

3. We want INSTANT production when we get a new idea and we don't want to have to throw away bulk product or have to use it up when we decide to change something.

- Worried about the quality of the 3D printed plug?

I don't want to brag about this 3D printer so I'm not going to. "Look what I just bought" is not a pastime I engage in. I'm almost ashamed of how much it cost. Almost. But it is a workhorse dual extrusion (can print two parts at the same time) printer aimed at small businesses for low volume production. It is capable of very high resolutions. 

- What's a workhorse 3D printer?

It's a production level 3D printer capable of highest speeds in the "consumer" category but it's actually more geared towards small businesses who can't afford one of those $40K+ 3D printers employed in actual factories. It is deemed a workhorse because it can be left running 24/7 with minimal servicing required down the line.

- What is the 3D printer?

It's not a Monoprice 3D Mini or whatever the heck those are called, those $300 ones that I don't have time to tinker with or service.

I'm still ashamed of how much it cost and if I say so, somebody out there in the wonderful world of the internet that terrifies the living crap out of me is going to say something like "look at the fun stuff she's buying with YOUR cable money."

It's not a toy, though. And it has printed nothing but plugs since it arrived. That and the silly keyring thingy that was in its sample library.

- Are you going to reduce the price of BNC cables?

I'm working on this. Those BNC plugs with the hood on them that fits the capacitor inside it are not cheap. I'm not going to solder a premade cable on though, because I like to have control over the cabling we use and I don't want to buy a massive batch only to find the quality tanked (and this does happen, I throw away parts more often than I'd like to admit.) So I'm working on getting much cheaper (But still high grade) connectors without the hood, making the hood and making it all easier to put together.

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