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I'm currently selling some RPi with USB cameras for my own company. The problem I face is that the connection between cameras and Raspberry is quite loose, not tight enough, sometimes leading to physical disconnection, software reset, and loss of time for the customer, especially when the system is moved.

The system is inside this kind of enclosure, allowing the user to disconnect and connect these cameras:
enter image description here

It seems that the problem comes from the RPi USB ports, as none of the USB devices I have really fit.

The obvious solution would be to clamp the connector (crush it just a bit) of the USB device I sell or to clamp the RPi USB connectors.

Do you see pros and cons for these approaches, or maybe another way to go?

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    Are you using USB cameras or the Pi Camera? I can't say that clamping sounds like a good idea. I would rather suffer a disconnection than breaking parts off the board. If the Pi is inside an enclosure you could tie a knot in the part of the USB cable inside the enclosure (this is a classic strain relief procedure). You may also want to check this search google.com/… – Steve Robillard Jun 22 '17 at 12:28
  • I'm using only USB cameras. Edited the question to disambiguate the "clamping" concept. Added enclosure photos. – Technico.top Jun 22 '17 at 12:29
  • Is the Pi in an enclosure or case if so can you provide pics? – Steve Robillard Jun 22 '17 at 12:31
  • Very usefull link, thank you steeve, my english wasn't good enough to find this by myself :) – Technico.top Jun 22 '17 at 12:37
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Given the case you are using here is what I would do:

Put a cable clamp like this

cable clamp

under one of the screw in the back of the case. Then tie a knot (big enough to not pull through the clamp) in the USB cable between the clamp and the USB port. Just make sure to leave a little extra cable between the clamp and USB port than the linear distance between them. This will remove the strain and if done correctly you could hold the other end of the USB cable and it will not pull out of the port. All of the weight/force will be taken up by the clamp.

Your end result should look like this:

knot cable strain relief

with a clamp replacing the hole drilled in the case in the photo.

If you don't want to tie a knot you can use a zip tie (just make sure it is big enough not to pull through the clamp, like in the photo below:ziptie cable strain relief

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Seen Steve's comment, USB already have a tighning system, 4 tabs per USB female connectors.

Pushing them inside will tighten the connection.

Sadly, only two of these tabs are accessible on the 4 USB ports RPis, as the inner one are hardly accesible, but this still should be enough to make things work better.

You may find some practical advices to tighen the USB ports on this link : https://aramblinggeek.com/quick-fix-fixing-a-loose-micro-usb-cable

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    That will give you a tighter fit but is still only a friction fit, and the weight of the camera and cable can still overcome the friction holding things together. You may want to combine this with my suggestion as it removes almost all of the pull on the cable. – Steve Robillard Jun 22 '17 at 12:55
  • Indeed your solution will give better reliabity, but will complicate the device add/remove process for the customer, and make the product less aesthetic. But I still may apply your answer if the friction tighning isn't enough to have a reliable system. – Technico.top Jun 22 '17 at 13:24

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