Fixing wire runs under the layout

[Tony Davis]

I’m sure I’ve seen layouts were the builder has affixed the wire run to the underside of the layout using what looks like a plastic tape folded over the wires and held in place with a screw. I’ve tried looking for such a thing in my local shops but the nearest I can find are cable ties which a) are too thin to put a screw through and, b) bl**dy difficult to get undone again without recourse to cutters.

 

Is the thing I have tried to describe really a thing, or have people just adapted something else?

 

Ta

[LongRail]

P clips

[Tony Davis]

Thanks, LongRail, exactly what I meant. 
 

Regards,

 

Tony

[cliff park]

Also, it is possible to get releasable cable ties. The 'tongue' is longer than normal and a finger nail, or small screwdriver will release them 

[kevinlms]

You can use a staple gun to attach cable ties.

 

As suggested use releasable ones, or standard ones and leave them loose, until you think you have finished the cabling before tightening them, but never fully. Then later when you find you haven't finished the wiring, cut them off and start again!

[John ks]

I find Velcro very handy to loom my cables

 

 

I have opened one of the ties to show a screw through the Velcro 

John

[Crosland]

Binding combs are also useful.

[PaulRhB]

41 minutes ago, Crosland said:

Binding combs are also useful.

Yep I cut them in three or four and screw them in at regular intervals, use a thin screwdriver to lift several combs at a time and they are fast to use and handy for holding the board connectors safely out of harms way during transit too.

[TheQ]

There are numerous solutions,

 There are clips which are screwed to the baseboard , which hold releaseable cable ties,

There are P Clips as Mentioned before,

There velcro ties as mentioned before,

Binding combs I'd not thought of.. I must investigate..

There are u clips you can screw to the baseboard and either tie wrap, or going back a bit loom and lace to..

There is Spiral wrap for the cables which can be attached to the baseboard.

There is cable ducting (Plastic) which you can screw on (don't trust double sided tape) and put you wires into.

You can drill holes through the baseboard supports feed the wires through and tywrap the rest.. (that's a real pain getting individual wires out later!!)

You can hot melt glue, the wire to the baseboard.  That's actually how most electronic equipment is done today cheap and easy unless you need to remove a wire..

Oh and an old way, make a channel of timber along the board with a plywood cap put on when finished wiring..

 

Reduce wiring.. the Builder of the layout I inherited, had + and - wired from each power supply and there were 12 PSU's !!!   I reduced that to 3 PSUs with a common return...

 

Me... I haven't got a preference, But it must be easily accessable, and modifiable.. 

 

Ohh using something like this as a wiring harness in the first place helps 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by TheQ

[Tony Davis]

Thanks everyone, so many solutions, I do favour the p clips, just my personal preference though

[JimFin]

And one more!

 

I 3d printed some of these, screw fix the red base to the baseboard, place the cables in place and slide the clip through. If you need to add/remove, pull the clip back, adjust the cables and re-clip. 

[ColinK]

Now that last solution is really neat, brilliant.

[royaloak]

1 hour ago, ColinK said:

Now that last solution is really neat, brilliant.

Not with my fingers, I would spend half an hour trying get hold of the bloody thing to slide it out!

 

In all seriousness, it is a very neat solution.

[PaulRhB]

4 hours ago, TheQ said:

 

Binding combs I'd not thought of.. I must investigate.

 

 

I stash them as we recycle reports etc  

 

[markneilp14]

2 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

 

I stash them as we recycle reports etc  

 

You should see the wiring on my gauge 3 layout blackgang that is even more minimalist. As in no wiring its all rc battery electric in each loco

[DCB]

I find lengths of mains trunking to be useful for routing cables.

[Huw Griffiths]

11 hours ago, JimFin said:

And one more!

 

I 3d printed some of these, screw fix the red base to the baseboard, place the cables in place and slide the clip through. If you need to add/remove, pull the clip back, adjust the cables and re-clip. 

 

11 hours ago, ColinK said:

Now that last solution is really neat, brilliant.

 

9 hours ago, royaloak said:

Not with my fingers, I would spend half an hour trying get hold of the bloody thing to slide it out!

 

In all seriousness, it is a very neat solution.

 

I agree - that is neat.

 

However, you might not even need to 3D print the red part of that setup - something similar has been available, ready made, for decades (OK - not exactly the same - but easy to modify using a file or scalpel - and they don't cost a fortune, either):

 

Cable tie base - from TLC website.

 

 

Huw.

[RobjUK]

You can also get self-adhesive "twist loc" tie base. Instantly openable and closable:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLUGZ2GO-Cable-Tie-Twist-Lock-Bunny-Ears-Choose-from-3-sizes-Natural/321676677157

 

 

[TheQ]

41 minutes ago, RobjUK said:

You can also get self-adhesive "twist loc" tie base. Instantly openable and closable:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLUGZ2GO-Cable-Tie-Twist-Lock-Bunny-Ears-Choose-from-3-sizes-Natural/321676677157

 

 

Though I'd stick a screw in as well, I've used various self adhesive attachments. and the one you don't want to fall off, does,  after the wires are in the way..

[WIMorrison]

21 hours ago, JimFin said:

And one more!

 

I 3d printed some of these, screw fix the red base to the baseboard, place the cables in place and slide the clip through. If you need to add/remove, pull the clip back, adjust the cables and re-clip. 

 

can you point us at the STL for these?

[JimFin]

8 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

 

can you point us at the STL for these?

There you go. Might want to make it a bit deeper for bundled cables.

Jims cable tie bracket.stl

Edited November 27, 2019 by JimFin

[Junctionmad]

3 hours ago, RobjUK said:

You can also get self-adhesive "twist loc" tie base. Instantly openable and closable:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLUGZ2GO-Cable-Tie-Twist-Lock-Bunny-Ears-Choose-from-3-sizes-Natural/321676677157

 

 

And detaches nicely from wooden surfaces at the most inappropriate time  

[sharris]

6 hours ago, RobjUK said:

You can also get self-adhesive "twist loc" tie base. Instantly openable and closable:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLUGZ2GO-Cable-Tie-Twist-Lock-Bunny-Ears-Choose-from-3-sizes-Natural/321676677157

 

I've used various self-adhesive cable clips in the past, but eventually they tend to unglue themselves. 

[PaulRhB]

To be fair usually the glue sticks to wood but as the wood is usually ply or mdf it either delaminates or splinters peel off until it falls off! I use 10mm screws to hold the combs on just driven straight through the plastic in the middle. 

[Robert Stokes]

I keep my wiring in place with a large staple gun and heavy duty staples. When they first go in they leave the wires loose. In this condition they are easily removed with a screwdriver. When you are sure that you have the wires where you want them, tap the staples with a pin hammer to tighten them.