I am looking for ideas on how to fit a headphone cable (for a mono speaker) onto a PCB and into an enclosure.

Originally I used a 2.5mm audio socket, but this is not robust and will end up breaking as it will be fitted inside a helmet.

So I decided to do away with using a connector and instead hardwire the cable into the enclosure.

I designed the enclosure in CAD which I 3D printed and put a groove in the top and bottom parts of the enclosure to try and clamp the cable.

But this did not clamp the cable enough, so I put some adhesive heatshrink around the cable to act as a stopper if the cable is pulled.

I prefer not to solder wire to PCBs, so I fitted a 2 way terminal block.

But its not a tidy solution so was wondering if anyone has got any thoughts about a more professional, production solution.

The device is compact so there is not much space to play around with.

 

1) Solder the wires directly to the PCB.
2) Physically clamp the cable using cable ties through two holes on the PCB.
3) Use a strain relief coming out of the 3D printed enclosure.
You just have to remember to feed the cable through the strain relief before doing anything else.
How many times have we forgotten to do this first when using barrel connectors, banana plugs, heat shrink tubing, etc.?

Where the cable enters the box is the weakest place. This is an example of a cable strain relief.

 

I am looking for ideas on how to fit a headphone cable (for a mono speaker) onto a PCB and into an enclosure.

Originally I used a 2.5mm audio socket, but this is not robust and will end up breaking as it will be fitted inside a helmet.

So I decided to do away with using a connector and instead hardwire the cable into the enclosure.

I designed the enclosure in CAD which I 3D printed and put a groove in the top and bottom parts of the enclosure to try and clamp the cable.

But this did not clamp the cable enough, so I put some adhesive heatshrink around the cable to act as a stopper if the cable is pulled.

I prefer not to solder wire to PCBs, so I fitted a 2 way terminal block.

But its not a tidy solution so was wondering if anyone has got any thoughts about a more professional, production solution.

The device is compact so there is not much space to play around with.


View attachment 363461

Add a 3d printed standoff where you can mount a cable clamp. Then clamp the cable.

 

Thanks both, unfortunately the space is very restricted so a standard cable clamp or cable ties will not fit, see dimensions below...

The cable diameter is 3.8mm, but I am struggling to find a way to clamp the cable and terminate the wires