Sonic Pad USB Serial Cable Stabilizer

This model (remix) is to provide a stabilizer for the Creality Sonic Pad's USB to Serial Cable into the Sonic Pad
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updated April 15, 2024

Description

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USB cables are very loose going into the Sonic Pad. This allows the USB connector to move around. When this happens on mine, it looses communications from my Sonic Pad to my CR6-SE printer. When this occurs, most of the time, I have to recycle power on both the Sonic Pad and the printer. This stabilizer remix is intended for the Sonic Pad USB Serial Cable that Creality sells to interface the Sonic Pad to the serial display port instead of the printers USB port. It reduces the amount that the USB connector can move thus reduces the number of times I loose communications. It's not perfect, just an improvement. The Sonic Pad mechanical interface is what it is and inhibits a perfect tight connection. I printed mine out of PLA that appears to work fine. ASA or ABS would probably be a better choice. I don't think PETG is rigid enough.

Note: This model (SP_USB_Stab Ver2.stl) is for the Creality's Optional USB to Serial Port Cable as shown in the photo. This one measures  approximately 18.2mm x 9.6 mm at the rubber part of the connector. The alternate model (SP_Small USB1.stl) is for the original Sonic Pad USB cable that measures approximately 16mm x 8 mm at the rubber part of the connector. If you would like an stl for a different size USB leave me a comment with the desired size and I will try to accommodate.

11/19/2023 Update: My PLA print lost it's rigidity due to fatigue and wouldn't stay attached to the Sonic Pad. I figured out a way to improve the design and released Version 2. Version 2 adds rigidity to the 2 arms by thickening them, adjusts the position and lengths of the arms to better match the outline of the Sonic Pad, lengthens the barrel to provide better stability, and adds 2 tabs to the barrels to more tightly capture the USB cable. The shape of the Sonic Pad is still the limiting factor. To overcome this I'll probably eventually glue my Stabilizer to the Sonic Pad to give the ultimate stability as I'm tired of loosing comms and prints every time the Sonic Pad or USB cable gets bumped. I recommend printing in ASA or ABS as these are much more rigid although my Ver2 PLA appears to be good enough. The design is small yielding a quick print time and short layer-to-layer time. This caused issues when I printed in ASA as the layers weren't sufficiently cooled down before proceeding to the next layer. Make sure the minimum layer time is set for 20 or more seconds. This made a huge difference in my print results.

11/27/2023 Update: I added a model, “SP_Small USB1.stl”, for the USB harness with the smaller connector that measures approximately 16mm X 8mm at the rubber part of the connector. I believe this is the size of the USB connector on the original USB-to-USB cable supplied with the Sonic Pad.

4/14/2024 Update: I deleted the original version 1 for Creality's Optional USB-to-Serial Port Cable. Version 2 was an improved version that was stiffer with better tolerancing.  Version 2 after 4 months of use eventually lost it's hold with my Sonic Pad. I'm now adding Version 3 which I call the HD version. It's much stiffer with a slightly deeper jaw. I also decreased the length a small amount because ver2 made it difficult to use 2 adjacent ports simultaneously.  I recommend printing with 0.2mm layer height and 5 outer walls. The Stabilizer was designed to and needs to be a tight fit. Actual size of the opening might be too tight or loose depending on the accuracy of your printer, the prosperities of your filament, and/or small differences in connector size. The opening can be adjusted simply by scaling in your slicer. Scale only the X-axis to values greater than 100% in 0.1% increments if too tight. Conversely, decreased in 0.1% increments if too loose.

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Model origin

The author remixed this model.

Differences of the remix compared to the original

This remix opens up the hole in the innovative stabilizer design Peter Jordan designed to accommodate the much larger USB connector on the Creality Sonic Pad USB to Serial Port Cable and adds length and thickness for increased stability. I also included a thicker and taller design using the original design's smaller opening.

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