Is there a dummies guide to crimp terminals and tools? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: e100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 10:18:54 am
content: How do you pick a crimp tool, (or do you actually need several crimp tools), and how many crimp tool shapes are there? How does the size numbering system work, (or are there multiple size numbering systems)?If you buy a box of crimp terminals how do you figure out what type of crimp tool you need? Or, do you buy a crimp tool and then only buy crimp terminals that are made for that tool? As you can see my knowledge in this area is zero.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 10:39:21 am
content: Good crimp tools are generally specific to a certain brand/type/series of connector, and can be quite expensive. There are generic crimp tools, but they only suit a small range of sizes and can often give quite poor results.The generic tools can be fine for hobby use, and with practice and a bit of knowledge you can improve the results to an acceptable level. For production work, you should generally use crimp tooling designed specifically for your crimps, or else outsource the work to someone who has the correct tools.What specific things do you want to crimp? What type of cables or connectors do you use?There is a pretty good summary about crimp tools and related connectors athttp://www.mattmillman.com/info/crimpconnectors/

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 11:41:28 am
content: There are two ways: you get a Phd in crimping, or try it dozens of times until you figure it out why your crimp is bad. I don't think there is a middle ground.I usually go with the option, where I can buy a cable assembly from a third party, price doesn't matter. Because I cannot train people to use the crimping tool properly, I don't want to do it myself, nobody at my company has the Phd for crimping.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 11:45:08 am
content: Note that official crimp tools needn't be well designed; one can assume they're high cost because of low quantity or competition.I got the Molex 64016-0201, a surprisingly beefy tool but it's quite poorly designed. It's much bigger than needed for the range of terminals it supports, the terminal holder thingy is hard to useand not even (vertically) centered on the die, so the terminal doesn't sit well,and for all that it costs about the same as any other, uh I guess "entry level" let's say, hand tool. I mean like, they mostly start around $100 (and yeah, go up quickly from there).AFAIK, 3rd party tools aren't very specific, and generally don't have fixturing for any kind of terminals, you just have to place them correctly, in the right slot, usually done to the right pressure too. So there's more of an element of skill to using them, more universal but less repeatable.Bigclive did a rundown of some tools a while back, or, uh, maybe it was mikeselectricstuff I forget? Add that to the reference pile in this thread...Tim

author: RogerThat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2022, 12:58:49 pm
content: Here is the DMC tooling guide(Aviation grade crimping tools). Read the introduction to understand crimping a bit more.https://api.dmctools.com/public/uploads/catalogues/tooling_guide_for_aerospace_wiring_systems_jUzqPcB.pdfThere are a few ways to test if your crimp is good.1. Pull on the crimp connection until it breaks. A good crimp never slides out, it rips apart.2. Test the resistance. for example run X amps thru the crimp and measure the voltage drop. The crimp should also not really heat up any more than the cable.Over-crimping (too much deformation) causes increased resistance, too little also causes increased resistance. You can try different cables and tool settings until you achieve the lowest resistance.Unless you want to do the testing your self you need to get the correct tool for the correct connector....and use the correct cable correctly prepared.

author: reknarof
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 11, 2022, 08:15:53 am
content: As evb149 already wrote, only a few tools are actually approved by the crimp manufacturers. For some terminals there are generally only inserts for automatic crimping machines.In my opinion, "good" crimp connections can only be reliably produced with a fully automatic crimping machine.In many cases you have to decide if you really need "good" crimp connections. If the number of pieces is not very high, you can live with "less good" crimps.For small quantities I often use the pliers from "www.engineertools-jp.com".Here is an overview of how you can control the quality of crimp connections. Unfortunately, it is only available in German, but the pictures should clarify a lot.www.we-online.com/web/de/index.php/show/media/07_electronic_components/download_center_1/auswahltools/Crimpverbindungen_Cripm_connections.pdf

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 11:46:43 am
content: Quote from: reknarof on July 11, 2022, 08:15:53 amAll the big connector companies have posters like that; here are a few.P.S. Molex has the posters in a bunch of languages:https://forum.digikey.com/t/molex-quality-crimp-posters-multiple-languages/4442

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 11:47:39 am
content: More:

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 11:49:02 am
content: And some guidebooks that contain detailed info: