got my usb part in and printed the case last night. i went with the redesign 2. i had to cut off the over hang at the opening cause the usb was just a little too long. and i did have to cut the shoulders off the usb so it would fit. the original redesign would prob be the perfect one for me to print which i may try later in the week. but overall i think it came out great!
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@John_R_Conti I think I might have run into the same issue as you. My board just arrived and looks like the build is slightly different from @Moe_Wigs. I am going to attempt to shorten up the side that would connect to the framework to see if there is a better fit.
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Anything specific I should do? I was just going to snip them off with a small needlenose
@Moe_Wigs Do you what printing settings I should use when printing the ExpansionCard mag charge second redesign?
@Ramon_Gonzalez i just cut mine off not thinking of any consequences. no problems so far
@Nathan3 every printer is different. you need to do what works best for you. but i changed my nozzle to .2 and did a layer height of .12 for extra detail. infill 5%. speed 60. supports everywhere
@Moe_Wigs have you or anyone else checked the Ali Express extention for data transfer speed and integrity? Interested in using this for a dock, but I want to know before I go down this rabbit hole. Seems like the magnetic connectors transfer data just fine
This is really great. Taking this concept for the Wheelchair PC I’m working on.
I’d be more than happy to buy a heap of the parts and sell them off assembled. @Moe_Wigs Are you alright with me using these files for my own profit?
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Alright.
Won’t continue with that then.
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The only reason I want some amount of profit is my time, and packaging. And anyway the three parts are around 20USD plus the print and time is around 2-3USD and if I sell for 28 it is around 5 dollars profit. Generally, if you post the files and info about how to make the unit it’s open-source meaning that I can use the files how I like whether that be for commercial use or personal use. FYI to anyone making expansion cards, please give information on how it is licensed.
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Pull the USB lines entirely and just leave CC1/2 and VBUS and GND.
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Most magnetic chargers are power only.
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yea i dont see any point in having data transferred over a magnetic attachment. if im moving a large file and that magnet slightly loses connection, which it often does when i move the laptop around while charging, id be pissed. id rather directly wire into usb c for max speeds and connection stability for anything else but charging
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My dream is a eGPU dock that connects with a single, magnetic cable. There are multiple options of magnetic USB C adapters that at least advertise 40Gb/s transfer speeds. I would want to test to make sure it lives up to it and is reliable before I go through a whole design process. Not going to be able to build one of these for a few months anyways. In theory, as long as you have the all the pins and they all have consistent contact, you’re good to go
Docking station.
All day every day I have power, gigabit, 2 external monitors, and all miscelaneous usb devices all going through a single thunderbolt port, through a magnetic 90-degree adapter.
And if the adapter were flush, or even just a bit closer to flush even if it still bumped out a little, that would mean I don’t have to remove the adapter when leaving the desk. Just leave it in there all the time and have the same magentic cable-end on the charger in my laptop bag.
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Non-profit is great and adding the person’s time at a reasonable rate is well within its bounds. E.g. non-profits pay their employees’ salaries.
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Seconding this. Transfer of data over magnetic connection is scary from a signal integrity standpoint, and it’s downright terrifying if that’s one millimeter away from USB PD’s 20v5a. I only use my magnetic card for charging, but that only mitigates half the risk. I still have connected data lines after the PD negotiation, and they’re still 1mm away from each other.
One bent pogo, one little component lead clipping (I do a lot of hobby electronics work) or metal filing accidentally magnetized to either side? zap. I’d much rather have the bare minimum.
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It’s very possible, but terrifying. You could probably find someone on here or on egpu.io that would be willing to test, I’ve seen people use these connectors with TB4 docks but not eGPUs so far. I have the equipment to, but it feels entirely too risky for me.
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