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With the only constraint being that the connection is "easily" removable (e.g. not soldered, but common tools are fine), what style of power connectors work best for vibrating environments?

Specifically, I'm looking at 3D printers. A popular brand has a moving bed with a power connector to attach it. Their warranty stipulates that the connection is regularly checked and tightened. As you can imagine, there are cases of the connection loosening, then shorting and frying the bed. Is this a poor implementation, or is this a standard enough design for the circumstance?

For some context, here is their assembly manual.

Prusa MK3 bed power connector

There's a question here regarding which is better - screw vs. push in. I'm curious in the general case what style is the most robust to regular movement.

user2152081
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  • I would think screw is always more secure but you would have to use threadlocker (purple, maybe blue, not red or green) or a nylon locknut. You could use a lockwasher but those work by digging in to the board. – DKNguyen Apr 25 '19 at 22:13
  • You could also consider a more flexible cable. – Solar Mike Apr 25 '19 at 22:44
  • You could use a lock washer, just be sure there are regular washers between it and the board. Avoid bonding with dissimilar metals of course. – K H Apr 26 '19 at 01:42
  • @KH - what do you mean by lock washer? I thought most styles of lock washers were worthless or worse than that in environments where they vibrate? Can you link to a specific style? – user2152081 Apr 26 '19 at 02:29
  • A lock washer would be good because it will maintain a more constant mechanical pressure on the contacts. I would only use the pictured method if the board is gold plated though. Otherwise the contacts will get oxidized fast. – Drew Apr 26 '19 at 03:56
  • A screw terminal would probably be better, but I'm guessing it was not used in this case due to the temperature of the heated bed. – Drew Apr 26 '19 at 03:58

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