Replacing The Long (5'+) Ribbon Cables That Go From The Head To The Mainboard?

[player]

I have a Roland VP540i. I had issues that turned out to be the mainboard which I replaced, but before that I replaced the long ribbon cables troubleshooting. I bought generic cables from Digiprint because they said the cables were identical, but they are thinner. I installed them. After complaining Digiprint sent me the correct Roland cables. The generic cables are still installed and the printer is now working as it should. I had another big unrelated issue that I just fixed.

When I replaced the long cables I didn't know the trick of taping the new cable to the old cable and pulling the new cables through one at a time. I took the plastic guides off and did them all at once, which was a difficult method I do not recommend.

Questions:

- Would someone please outline in detail how they tape and pull the cables through please? Is there an order of cable that they get pulled through? How are the cables taped together? Any tricks to this trick?

2- Are the generic cables an issue? They are about 20% thinner than the OEM. Will this be an issue down the road? Should I keep them or should I replace them with the OEM cables while I have the machine apart?

Thanks

 

[MikePro]

the only main difference in ribbon cables, is conductor-count & spacing.... i.e. ways/pitch. If you take your OEM cable and put it head to head with the one that DigiPrint sent you, chances are they're the same and one just "feels" thicker but it might just have a different coating. I have only ever bought 3rd party ribbon cables for my old mimaki and never had an issue. Only failures were due to creasing the cable or wearing out the contacts from repeated removal/reinstall.

as far as using the old cable to pull the new through the system.... painter's tape should be plenty good. that process seems pretty self-explanatory. ...but if it were me, i'd place the cable heads end to end, bridge with tape on either side and secure the tape with a band of tape on either-end (just in case)

 

[player]

the only main difference in ribbon cables, is conductor-count & spacing.... i.e. ways/pitch. If you take your OEM cable and put it head to head with the one that DigiPrint sent you, chances are they're the same and one just "feels" thicker but it might just have a different coating. I have only ever bought 3rd party ribbon cables for my old mimaki and never had an issue. Only failures were due to creasing the cable or wearing out the contacts from repeated removal/reinstall.

as far as using the old cable to pull the new through the system.... painter's tape should be plenty good. that process seems pretty self-explanatory. ...but if it were me, i'd place the cable heads end to end, bridge with tape on either side and secure the tape with a band of tape on either-end (just in case)

Should I change the cables or just leave them? The printer seems to be working fine.