make wiring a little more...organized?

[blaze3927]

in my projects the build for my portables is generally in two halves/pieces, say controller screen in the top of the case and everything else at the bottom. when i goto wire these together since i obviously cant solder them when the case is shut i have to either make the wires excessively longer (yes i need all the space i can get) or when they are the right size opening it back up again is a pain.

are there any easy to solder to componentry around that'll let me say have a connector in the top and the plugs in the bottom so each time i open the case i can simply just plug and unplug the two sides.

[hailrazer]

Well the best thing is to build it so well that there is never a need to open it again. My Darth64 and Dreamtrooper were never opened after the final test. Everything worked perfect and didn't need adjusting.

But if for some reason you will have to be opening it a lot I guess molex connectors would work, but it would take up more space in the case.

[Rekarp]

you can use something like the 40 pin connectors on harddrives.

[dragonhead]

use pin headers. socket on one half of the case, pins on the other, so when you put the 2 halves together, they plug into each other. no wires between the cases at all then!

[Mario]

Yeah, I was thinking molex headers, too!
That's actually a really awesome idea!

I'm doing that in my next portable.

[dragonhead]

Yeah, I was thinking molex headers, too!
That's actually a really awesome idea!

I'm doing that in my next portable.

was thinking more like board headers.

[blaze3927]

for now I have just decided to just make two halves and use earth magnets and metal strips as the connections/what actually holds the thing together. If that doesnt work out ill try the header pin/socket things (molex connectors seema bit pricey for only 4 pins)