3D Printed Tool Reinforces 16-pin 12VHPWR Connector While Helping with Cable Management

[btarunr]

A Redditor who goes by mikejc shared the 3D printer model for a contraption that safely bends a 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connector to a 90° angle for cable-management. It's essentially a crutch to guide the high-gauge cables of the connector, which bends the cable at a safe 3.5 cm distance away from the connector. A properly guided cable reduces mechanical stresses on the contacts of the 12VHPWR connector, improving its durability in scenarios where PC enthusiasts want to manage cable clutter in their PCs. The PC enthusiast community was stirred last week to end-user reports of GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards with burned 16-pin power connectors.



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[lemonadesoda]

Nice job. But a solution to a problem that should never have happened. Either the 16-pin 12VHPWR Connector needs to be redesigned, or there are manufacturers cutting corners, not using proper wire gauge and/or conductor metal properties and plug connector plastics that have the wrong temperature performance range. High internal PC case temperatures will not help.

I've noticed a similar problem with some domestic wiring cables. Some of the "cheaper" wiring brands are clearly inferior to the better quality ones, and are "equivalent" in current capacity in as much as they cannot handle overload, and they require cool temperatures, not within insulated conduits.

 

[john_]

Why do we need a 3D printer for very simple things like that? Any piece of hard plastic, for example from that package of the butter you just ate, can be cut with a pair of scissors and with a little tape be used to reinforce the cable close to the plug.
A 3D printed design might look better, but it's mostly unnecessary. And I think a simple tube like design, with two 3-4 centimeter pieces that can clip to each other will make a better job.

 

[Arkz]

Given the obvious corners cut with everything these days, and this connector just having a tiny soldered bar linking the pins, it should have never been rated more than 300W. I mean look how tiny it is, and 300W would be the same as 2x 8 pin plugs, that have individually crimped pins. Something that can draw as much power as a 4090 should have had 2x 16pin connectors if they really wanted to push this.

 

[igralec84]

I guess it's cheaper to have one of those 3D printed than 99$ for the cablemod product.

 

[zlobby]

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Why do we need a 3D printer for very simple things like that? Any piece of hard plastic, for example from that package of the butter you just ate, can be cut with a pair of scissors and with a little tape be used to reinforce the cable close to the plug.
A 3D printed design might look better, but it's mostly unnecessary. And I think a simple tube like design, with two 3-4 centimeter pieces that can clip to each other will make a better job.

Please, join us in 2022. 3D printing is great so we dont have to pay extortionist prices for someone(like CableMod) else to make. Everyone knows someone with a 3D Printer.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Makes you wonder why nvidia didn't do this.
Right they wanted people top buy new psu's

 

[Udyr]

...then someone tries this, the cable melts anyway and who knows what's going to be the reason (excuse).

 

[Bomby569]

I guess it's cheaper to have one of those 3D printed than 99$ for the cablemod product.

by cablemod's own words their products also need this. This was created based on their recommendations.


1600$ and you have to print accessories so it doesn't melt

 

[bonehead123]

"can ya smell what da Rock is cookin ?"

I wonder if anyone who bought one of these horribly designed cards has been in contact with the CPSC, the EEIE, their local/State Attorney General's office, or at the very least the BBB ?

I know I certainly would have if I had spent $1.6k on a dangerous, worthless pos that should never have been cleared for release to the public in the 1st place..

 

[TheDeeGee]

Pointless at this moment in time, cuz we know by now bending isn't the issue. Even perfectly straight cables burn up.

 

[Hxx]

this is just ridiculous doesnt matter if you own a 3d printer or not, heck u can pay someone on etsy do this for you for cheap. this is crazy because if you drop 1.6K on a card (in the US) and wake up with a connector starting to melt, then take that card back to nvidia or whatever retailer u purchased it from, get your money back, and wait for mighty Nvidia to fix it. Let’s get real it is Not the consumers job to figure out ways to fix it.

If you’re that desperate for a card then go get something to hold u over until nvidia gets their shit straightened out.

 

[TheDeeGee]

I guess it's cheaper to have one of those 3D printed than 99$ for the cablemod product.

CableMod cable is like 30 bucks, and that's a direct PSU replacement.

 

[Hxx]

"can ya smell what da Rock is cookin ?"

I wonder if anyone who bought one of these horribly designed cards has been in contact with the CPSC, the EEIE, their local/State Attorney General's office, or at the very least the BBB ?

I know I certainly would have if I had spent $1.6k on a dangerous, worthless pos that should never have been cleared for release to the public in the 1st place..

Im fairly certain they will get sued over this. Someone somewhere started or will start a fire and will lose more than just a videocard.

 

[john_]

Please, join us in 2022. 3D printing is great so we dont have to pay extortionist prices for someone(like CableMod) else to make. Everyone knows someone with a 3D Printer.

Where have I said "Go and buy an overpriced piece of plastic in a shiny box"? And I don't know someone with a 3D printer and even if I knew, it's not a given they will have the time to start printing stuff for others.
Please re read my post and understand that I am suggesting that someone can fix the adapter's problem with almost 0 cost. And I say almost 0 cost because I guess 10-20 centimeters of self adhesive tape does come with a cost. Maybe $0.0001.

Also the 3D printed tool in the first post does NOT stop the cable from bending close to the socket. It's even seen in the picture where the cable is free to bend upwards or horizontally. It's not a good design, but it is a good example to offer ideas for fixing this problem.

 

[Hardware Geek]

Thr bad publicity alone is going to cost Nvidia more than it would have cost to make a sturdy, proper adapter in the first place.

 

[igralec84]

CableMod cable is like 30 bucks, and that's a direct PSU replacement.

Oh okay, i probably clicked on the whole kit or something as there was a lot of cables. Then it's not that bad i guess.

 

[Dammeron]

Nice job. But a solution to a problem that should never have happened. Either the 16-pin 12VHPWR Connector needs to be redesigned, or there are manufacturers cutting corners, not using proper wire gauge and/or conductor metal properties and plug connector plastics that have the wrong temperature performance range. High internal PC case temperatures will not help.

Some clarification is needed... It's not a problem with the new PCIE plug standard. What melted were the 12pin->4x8pin adapters from nV that were supplied with the cards. And it's not all of them, but just a few that were built differently - 150V rated cables instead of 300V, smaller contact patches with poor solder quality etc. When the solder breaks, it can still retain the conductivity if the cable touches the contact point, however such small contact area raises the resistance to the point of heating the whole thing up over 100C...

Gamers Nexus tested 5 such adapters and all of them were built much sturdier than the one Igor's Lab had, which shows that the problem might be very minor.

As for that 3d printed part - 4090 is already a tall card, and this thing probably won't fit to most of the cases on the market.

 

[TheDeeGee]

Oh okay, i probably clicked on the whole kit or something as there was a lot of cables. Then it's not that bad i guess.

12VHPWR PCI-e Cable – CableMod EU Store

 

[Tomgang]

It's one solution, but it doesn't fix the burning problem.

I have ordered a cable from cable mods. I want it to bofh look good and be safe. That 3d printed part, does not fix the burning/melting problem. A cable from cable mods I hope will fix both of these problems.

 

[rusTORK]

Abomination.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

150V rated cables instead of 300V

Some cables actually have both, see the GN video.

Gamers Nexus tested 5 such adapters and all of them were built much sturdier than the one Igor's Lab had, which shows that the problem might be very minor.

Manufacturer dependent, yea.

 

[lemonadesoda]

I’d just like to remind everyone that you need to be very careful with 3D printed models being used in high temperature environments. They are likely to fail if the wrong material is chosen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_transition

The material fail temperature you need to reference is the glass transition temperature (the lowest temperature at which the material can flow or warp), not the melting point. This depends on what material you're using. Approximate fail temperatures for common printable materials are:

• PLA: 60˚C
• PETG, high-temperature PLA: 95˚C
• ABS: 105˚C
• Nylon: 70˚C
• Polycarbonate: 145˚C

As you can see, most of the cheaper printing plastic spools are not suitable for hot rigs.

 

[Minus Infinity]

Great, spend $1600 on a GPU then have to pay more for someone to fix Nvidia's bodgy crap. Nope never going to happen.