a PROFESSIONAL way of SLEEVING YOUR CABLES

This is an advance guide that will help us understand and learn more about PSU sleeving and PSU Cable Extensions.
I will show some tips and tricks on how to sleeve your cables.

below are examples of custom made cable extensions and some fine sleeving jobs for your reference








NOTE: Some of the pictures used in this tutorials are uploaded by their respective owners.


- chrono_kairo

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Sep 8 2013, 10:52 AM

TOOLS FOR SLEEVING
*pictures are for reference only.

BASIC TOOLS FOR SLEEVING
1. Scissors - for sure you have one of this so i think i dont need to explain.


2. Flush Side Cutter / Flat Edge Snipper - a special kind of cutter that has a flat side so we can measure and cut the sleeves straight.


3. Flat Remover - it is use to remove the pins on 24pin connector, 4+4eps, 6+2pcie, etc.


4. Masking Tape - Found at most stores this is used for numbering your cables. Use to cover the pins when sleeving


5. Slow Flame Lighter - Found at most stores. A torch lighter sounds like a good idea but it will instant melt the heat-shrink.




ADVANCE TOOLS FOR SLEEVING
1. Molex Crimper - it is used for crimping molex pins.


2. Automatic Wire Stripper - used for stripping down wires


3. Heat Shrink Cutting Jig - used for cutting heat-shrink with precision.


4. Sharp Knife - will be used with the jig


5. Soldering Kit - used for re-wiring







- chrono_kairo

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Sep 7 2013, 07:41 AM

great!

where to find this Molex Remover??

we are selling it, please refer to our FB page.
BTW, im new at this forum, is selling allowed here?

we are currently doing some inventory, soon we will update you guys for the stocks and prices.

have a great day.

yes you may, or you can. but not here. if i may redirect your attention to the Garage Sales section, it'd be nice for you to open your thread there. do see which sub-section that would be appropriate.; good luck bro!

thanks for the quick response bro.

will do open one, i hope i can find the proper sub section for it.

sleeping time.

KINDS OF SLEEVES(sizes)
- 18awg wire are commonly used by branded power supply
*pictures are for reference only.


2mm Sleeves
- this sleeves is as you can see, exact for 18awg wires.



3mm Sleeves
- this sleeves is a bit big on 18awg wires.



COMPARISON



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KINDS OF SLEEVING
- there are two types of sleeving. with heat-shrink and shrinkless.

With Heat-Shrink Sleeving
- this kind of sleeving is good looking. it shows the heat shrink. you can even control the length of the heatshrink to be shown.
- you just need a similar size of heatshrink and place it perfectly so it can show a perfect line of heatshrinks.

*not straight heatshrink - messy


*straigt heatshrink - perfect



Shrinkless Sleeving
- this kind of sleeving is neat looking. it does not show any heatshrink. and you dont have to worry about measuring the heatshrink to be used for each wire.




its your choice which kind of sleeving to use. just make sure that you enjoy sleeving, and you give your best to have a great output.

- chrono_kairo

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Sep 6 2013, 04:48 PM

KINDS OF CONNECTORS
*pictures are for reference only.

24pin MoBoAdapter



8pin EPS



6+2 PCIE



SATA Power Connector



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COLOR SCHEME
- this is really about what you want. what combination of colors, etc. The limit is your imagination. I will just explain to you the common color scheme used in sleeving.
- there are 3 main color styles

1. Single Color Scheme
- this are the common premade extension that can be bought in the market. The main downfall of this scheme is that, it feels dull.



2. Bi-Color Scheme
- this is the common sleeving done by pro sleevers. This two colors are categorized as follows, Base color and Accent color. Base Color is the main color of the case or internal parts while Accent color is the "catchy color" or "highlights" which will catch the attention.



3. Tri-Color Scheme
- for me this is the most beautiful sleeving style but it really depends on the color of your case and internals but when done right, you cables and innards will look perfect. The colors are categorized as follows, Base Color, Mid Color and Accent Color. Base and Accent Colors are the same as discuss above while Mid Color is the in between color that is not to much for a base color and not to little to be the accent color. Common mid colors used are gray and white.




*note: before doing some sleeving, please take consideration on the lighting you will use. when you flood your case with lighting, it has the possibility of discoloring the sleeves or it may turn out to be bluescale or what so ever depends on the lighting you will flood.
you may also want to consider the 4+4eps, 6+2pins on how will the color scheme will affect it.


- chrono_kairo

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Sep 7 2013, 07:46 AM

HOW TO SLEEVE
*pictures are for reference only.

Sleeve Position



Heatshrink Position



Steps



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HOW TO SLEEVE MODULAR AND NON-MODULAR PSU
-there are two types of sleeving for these kinds of PSU. Keep warranty and Kill warranty

a. Keep your warranty - You will sleeve and shrink the cables up to the area where the cables enter the PSU and then use a larger piece of heatshrink to sleeve them all together. (a zip tie under the heatshrink is typically used to hold them in place) This allows you to keep your warranty (contact psu maker to make sure) but looks kinda ugly if you can see your powersupply through your window.


b. Kill your warranty - In this method you simply remove the cover to your PSU and then sleeve the cables up inside of the PSU so that the cables are heatshrunk inside of the psu cover and then using a zip tie on the inside of the PSu to secure them. This method is by far the best and will look professional and clean. Please be careful when working inside of a PSU as the capacitors will hold enough of a charge to shock the crud out of you. Also please note that you may need to widen the hole where the cables enter as once you sleeve them the bundle will be thicker. You can terminate cables you will not use by unsoldering them inside the psu or simply cutting them and sealing the ends - but please only attempt this if you are sure of what you are doing.



*thanks lutro0 for the explanation

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Nov 11 2013, 01:53 PM

HOW TO SLEEVE SATA POWER CABLE
*pictures are for reference only.
-there are 6 ways how to sleeve your Sata Power Cable.

1. The small section of sleeving in-between method without heatshrink
- this method requires the absolute correct measurement of the sleeve in between the connectors. A common misconception is that you need heatshrink to hold onto it. The way I get around this is to make the sleeve go from one connector to the other with no gaps, but put a small amount of super glue underneath the sleeve to hold it into place - make sure that they are snug and under the little lip of the pass through connector. I do not have an example of this method on hand as the one I did was for a project for NVIDIA and I did not take any photos, but if you look at the following example it looks very similar.

A. Modified non-heatshrink:
This method will produce the same effect as method one, however you sleeve the full cable first and then cut away a small amount of sleeve to allow the wire to be pushed into the pass through molex terminal. This method will produce amazing results but its is VERY DIFFICULT to master. You will most likely waste tons of sleeve and wires before you get a perfect result. The following picture is one of the best executions of this method I have ever seen!


2. The small section of sleeving in-between method with heatshrink:
This method requires the absolute correct measurement of the sleeve and the heatshrink in between the connectors. A common misconception is that you need to make the sleeve shorter then the section to have the heatshrink hold onto it. But this only produces a bump that looks terrible. The way I get around this is to make the sleeve go from one connector to the other with no gaps, but put a small amount of super glue underneath the sleeve to hold it into place and then cut smaller sections of heatshrink to put over the ends to close up the end sections of the sleeve - make sure that they are snug and under the little lip of the pass through connector. Here is an example of this method, and one of the best executions of this method to a T.


3. Using colored wire method:[/B]
This is simple enough in the way that you use the first method to bring the sleeve up to the first connector but then leave the rest of the connectors with bare wire, but you use colored wire that matches your sleeve to leave a matching look. Here is an example of this method that is sold @ Mod-DIY:


4. Heatshrink the whole thing method:
This is also simple as you follow method one up to the first connector and then use colored heatshrink to give the matched look on the sections in-between your other connectors. Here is an example of this method, but remember that you can use colored heatshrink as well to make it match better:


5. Sleeve and heatshrink the whole bundle method:
As the name of the method states, you sleeve the whole bundle and shrink it in-between the connectors. I would recommend using a bit of super glue to hold it into place a bit better as well as holding the wires flat so they don't look like a round tube, this way you can get it to lay like a flat cable and give it a better look. Here is an example of such a method without laying the cables flat:


6. Use single crimp style connectors:
This is my favorite method as its the cleanest and best looking out of all of them, however it will depend on how many aux connectors your PSU has and how many sata powered devices you have.

But something to think about is that you can always make an 4pin Molex to crimped sata power connector if you need more sata connectors then your have aux connectors.

Simply put you use the crimp style sata power connectors and use one aux connector on your PSU per sata device, this way you are not compromising having to use the methods above and it provides the cleanest look of all. The downfall is having more sleeved cables to deal with and finding the room for them. Again its up to how many sata devices you have to use. Here is an example of what I mean, and you can see right away why this is my favorite as its the cleanest possible method:


A. Alternate daisy chain method both with heatshrink and without:
This method is if you have to have an extra device you can have the sleeved cables daisy chain off of one of the sata crimp connectors, what this would involve is having to crimp two wires to one crimp and be careful to insert it into one of the crimp sata connectors, this is very difficult to do and I would suggest a small diameter sleeve and a small diameter wires such as the UL1007 wire.

What makes that wire special is that it has a super small outer diameter and will give you the extra room you need to make a double wire into a single pin happen. But even then this takes much practice and patience to get a clean look. Here is a example of this method, while its not the cleanest example if done right with or without heatshrink it can be a saver if you don't have enough aux connectors on your PSU or have enough 4pin Molex power connectors to use - again this method does not bring the sleeve all the way up to the connector which is the cleanest method. Remember this can be done without heatshrink as well but the following photo does provide a good idea of what it looks like:



-please note that none of the following pictures are my own or of my own work, they are used simply for reference and the credit is fully given to those that have made the photos and took the time to make them-




how to sleeve sata data and power cable

thanks lutro0 for the guide

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Sep 11 2013, 06:06 PM

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR CABLE
*pictures are for reference only.

An extension by design simply extends the existing cable, this allow for a perfect 1-1 pinout that goes straight from one connector to the other. This allows for a perfect looking cable and is one of the reason my sleeved cables pictures look perfect and rainbow or “flow” exactly the way I want them.

OEM psu sleeving (sleeving the existing cables) however will be a harder task as you are at the mercy of the PSU maker and the pinout they have used. This can make training your cable very difficult. However read the following tips for producing a better result.

There are eight tips for achieving a good looking cable in terms of organization and training it to “flow” properly.

1. Tighten the sleeve as much as possible! This will work with plastic sleeve the best - but is still totally possible with paracord if you stretch it right. If you get the right stretch down and do it consistently – the full cable will hold its shape better.

2. As you are sleeving and putting the wires back into the connector, bend and train the cable as you finish each row. This will give you an upper hand when you end up training the whole cable. To train the cables - simply hold the row in your hand and do slight bends in the direction you want the cable to go all the way from the front of the cable to the back. If done properly it will make the final training of the full cable much easier.

3. Train, train, and train the finished cable, then come back and do it some more. Do this before you put it in the system and after. For example hold all the rows together and bend in the direction you have been training them by doing slight bends from the front to the back. Once the cable is in the system do the same thing until you get the desired result.

4. Zip-ties are your friends! If you get handy with some zip ties this will make it easier when its placed into the system - a few well-placed goes a long way. For example, a zip-tie behind the case on a 24pin will bundle the cable some and allow you to train it easier on the facing side.

5. Learning about wire lengths and how to use them to your advantage will help a long way into getting the cable to bend the way you want. This however takes time and trial and error. For example making one row slightly longer on the outer bend will give you some extra slack to bend the cable in the right direction. This however is mainly for extensions or pcie/ eps cables.

6. The wire you use will affect how easy it is to train the cable. Try different kinds until you find a stiff cable that is easy to sleeve. However always stick to 18awg or a custom 16awg, just look for different wire coatings. I would stay away from solid core as they are harder if not impossible to get a good crimp.

7. If you are doing an OEM PSU you will have to train the parts that are seen and tuck away the other side. This is due to the OEM Pinouts. For example, use a zip tie to hide the twisting and double wires of a 24pin to the back of the case. Then train the exposed cables until the desired effect is achieved.

8. Make yourself a set of extensions to add onto your OEM sleeved cables. This is the perfect way to get your cables to look professional and get the look you always wanted. This will include making custom length OEM cables and then using the extensions to get the perfect bend. Its more work for sure, but for those that desire nothing less than perfect – this is the only way to go.


"I will be honest however, training a cable is an art. It will take tons of trial and error and practice until you get it down. Even then sometimes with OEM sleeving (sleeving the original cables) the PSU makers pinout will make it very hard and sometimes almost impossible to get a perfect “flow”. But, with enough practice you can make it look pleasing." - Lutro0

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Nov 11 2013, 11:30 AM

HOW TO DE-PIN MY PSU
*pictures are for reference only.



The instructions are simple:

1. Insert the Molex Tool making sure to have both prongs on the outside of the terminal on the inside.
2. Push the wire up into connector while pushing down on the tool to make sure its all the way in.
3. While makeing sure the tool is still all the way in pull out the wire. (sometimes you make need to pull with some force as some terminals dig into the connector as this is how the PSU maker has made them.

This method will ALWAYS work, sometimes you may need allot more pull force then you think you should need but as long as you keep the wire straight so your pulling force is straight out of the connector you will be fine. If you need to repeat the steps and try again.

Allot of people also ask how do I remove the male terminals from the male connectors. It is done exactly the same way.

1. Insert your Molex Tool the same direction as the wings on the terminal and from the front side push the tool in untill it falls into the grooves for de-pinning. This can be frustrating as you can see them while you do this - but you will feel when it goes in. It just takes a little moving around.
2. Pull out wire while tool is pushed in.

And lastly we will cover the Round 4pin Extractor.

The Round 4pin Extractor needs little explanation as you simple use the right end to put over the round pin and then pull it out.

I will cover the Exacto Knife in another section as it needs allot of pictures to fully explain. But the simple rule with the Knife is that if it has a tab slightly lift it and pull the wire out, and if it doesn't have a tab you need to push down on the top part of the metal pin exposed on the side and push down to slide the pin out with the knife. But I will show you how when I update next.

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Nov 11 2013, 11:36 AM

HOW TO SEW YOUR CABLE
*pictures are for reference only.

I'll be honest with you guys. I have never done this before. Lutro0 recommended a youtube video on how to sew cables. Please check it out. Thanks Frank.

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4

another helpful video. - thanks Dinsmore
Video 1

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Nov 11 2013, 11:41 AM

HOW TO CRIMP A TERMINAL WITH NOSE PLIERS
*pictures are for reference only.


Make sure to have a needle nose pliers and a wire stripper that you can strip the wire to 3mm or so. Strip the wire and proceed to the next step.


Make sure that the extra wire length is inside of the pin - this will give it a better connection and hold it into place for you a bit.


Crimp down the one side carefully.


Then fold over the other side and clamp it down, make sure to get it right on so it does not overhang.


Fold over the upper wing as close to the other, I even bend the open on over a little so I can round it over a bit more.


Try to round it over as much as possible - dont just clamp it down otherwise you will end up with a ovelapping metal that will not insert properly. These crimps are not the strongest but will work in an emergency.


And thats it! Like I said I dont recommend doing this with allot of crimps but if you are in a bind it will work in a pinch, this also work with other pins as well. - Lutro0

This post has been edited by chrono_kairo: Nov 11 2013, 11:50 AM

Do you have any red pin connector for sale?

This post has been edited by Kentucki: Sep 6 2013, 12:44 PM

Kentucki: ygpm.

please feel free to give suggestion or request so we can help each other out on sleeving.

Nice guide, seems like you also follow lutro0 customs guide...

yep. he taught me how to sleeve. his my mentor.

i like this