More electrical connector / crimper questions...

[bmwpower]

My weak attempt at Merk crimp picts. My crimp dies showed up. Fouled up my first one by crimping too close to the edge...rats. Fixed by crimping again a little closer up. I like the rectangular shape it creates. Even though I show it in the largest crimp slot, I used the next one down and that seemed to hold the shape/crimp better.

Enjoy...

 

[bmwpower]

.....continued.....

 

[bmwpower]

Ok, got my INSULATED crimp connector dies the other day...

 

[bmwpower]

Whiat is the orientation of the connector in the dies?

With the "dots" at the front of the connector, on top.



... or with the "dots" at the back of the connector, on top.



...or do the "dots" go on the bottom??

 

[Merkava_4]

Is this your crimper right here?

http://www.paladin-tools.com/view_category.php?id=118

 

[bmwpower]

Is this your crimper right here?

http://www.paladin-tools.com/view_category.php?id=118

That would be the one.

 

[Merkava_4]

That would be the one.

And you're using the #2035 die for that, correct?

 

[bmwpower]

And you're using the #2035 die for that, correct?

Correct.

I found some info here:

http://www.terminaltown.com/Pages/Page7.html

Seems that the connector open end should be facing the colored dots side. Although not mentioned in the link, I'm thinking the indentation "dots" should be on the "top" of the connect so that upon inspection the dots are easily observed for compliance reasons.

This link brings up another question...should you twist the bare wire before crimping it? If twisting the end prevents the wire from conforming to the crimp shape and consuming all the space in the barrel, maybe it should not be twisted.

Clearly, I seem to care too much about this ****. No interest but yours, Merk...I think.

 

[Merkava_4]

NOTE: It is best to position your connector seam up, or seam faced toward the upper jaw. It will give you a better crimp.

That's interesting -- I didn't know that about ratcheting crimpers.

 

[Merkava_4]

This link brings up another question...should you twist the bare wire before crimping it? If twisting the end prevents the wire from conforming to the crimp shape and consuming all the space in the barrel, maybe it should not be twisted.

I always twist the wire before inserting it in the terminal -- that way I'm assured all the wires go in without one or two catching on the barrel on the way in. I'm not sure if that's illegal or not though.

 

[bmwpower]

That's interesting -- I didn't know that about ratcheting crimpers.

Well, apparently he knows his stuff. He has videos on crimping.

http://www.howtocrimp.com/author.php

 

[bad daddy]

It will matter more when you use the proper connector.

The connectors with the "sleeve" have a "funnell" shape to them, so that when you crimp, it will crimp on the wire, and on the insulation. hence the name "double crimp"... the crimp on the insulation provides added strain relief, and the funnel shaped sleeve prevents the seam on the connector from splitting open and letting the wires out...

The brand of wire stripper I have is a WEICON no. 5
http://www.weicon.ca/en/produkte/abisolierwerkzeuge/abisolierzangen/no5.php

Here's the crimper.
http://www.rostratool.com/itemdetails.asp?p=1&cat1ID=20&cat1Name=Electrical&cat2ID=5&cat2Name=Insulated&familyID=15&familyName=3100%20Series%20Crimp%20Tools&itemID=58&itemNumber=3145%20CT

The supplier used to call it the lunch box special...so many got taken away from the jobsite at the end of the day... prompting the invention of the see through lunch box.

Whiat is the orientation of the connector in the dies?

With the "dots" at the front of the connector, on top.



... or with the "dots" at the back of the connector, on top.



...or do the "dots" go on the bottom??

 

[wyndycity]

Funny enough, at work today I had to investigate lugs for a grounding application and found that a frequent supplier of our is Tyco Amp. I came across a document of theirs that goes into some detail about proper crimping.

You guys gotta check it out...take a look at pages 13-14 and you'll find another company's opinion on quality crimping.

http://www.tycoelectronics.com/commerce/DocumentDelivery/DDEController?Action=showdoc&DocId=Specification+Or+Standard%7F114-2157%7FE%7Fpdf%7FEnglish%7FENG_SS_114-2157_E.pdf

If for some reason the link above doesn't work... go here, and do a search for document 114-2157 http://www.tycoelectronics.com/commerce/DocumentDelivery/DDEController

Looks like the "dots" are on top of the connector at the front.

 

[kwhitelaw]

I always twist the wire before inserting it in the terminal -- that way I'm assured all the wires go in without one or two catching on the barrel on the way in. I'm not sure if that's illegal or not though.

I always try to not twist the wire, unless I'm forced to. I feel that leaving the strands "loose" will conform to the crimp better, leaving less open air..

could make absolutely no difference, just how I've done it for years.

 

[wyndycity]

I always try to not twist the wire, unless I'm forced to. I feel that leaving the strands "loose" will conform to the crimp better, leaving less open air..

could make absolutely no difference, just how I've done it for years.

I think it's better to leave the wires straight, not twisted. Twisting it would just stress them. Just make sure all the strands get inside the terminal.

I found another nice reference sheet from Tyco...

http://tooling.tycoelectronics.com/pdf/US_crimpposter.pdf

Looks like Molex is another source for crimping info...
http://www.molex.com/molex/common/staticLoader.jsp?fileName=/tnotes/crimp.html&progLink=Good+Crimps&&channel=Tech%20Library&channelId=-30

http://rhu004.sma-promail.com/SQLImages/kelmscott/Molex/PDF_Images/987650-2481.PDF

and finally, here's a crimper tool guide similar to yours bmwpower...
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/84575.pdf

 

[DukeGN]

This thread was really helpful. I have a Paladin CrimpAll with a 2035 and now I'm trying to find the correct die for crimping a molex connector.

Does anyone know?

Thanks for the help.