Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

I came across this link tonight and thought it was worth sharing. If your team is on the fence about spending a little extra money on a decent wire crimper, this should remove any doubt from your mind.

To summarize: a guy benchmarks a pretty wide variety of crimp tools (with videos). His test fixture uses a digital load cell to record the maximum force applied (in pounds) before the crimp connection fails.

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com...d.php?t=125926


(not all of these are featured in the videos)

Re: Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

This is pretty cool. We're looking to add to our tool collection and need a new crimper, we just have one and it always seems to get misplaced by the students so this couldn't have come at a better time. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

I'm not advocating purchasing more than one good wire crimper. The linked post quantitatively compare the different options out there, and help teams on tight budgets justify spending $50+ to replace a tool they already have, that may seem "ok" in their eyes currently.

The photo is illustrating the different types of crimpers which were benchmarked. Ranging from the $5 throwaway crimper/stripper combo tool that everyone starts with, all the way up to a $1000+ aerospace grade crimper.


Glad it was helpful. Goodluck this coming season.

Re: Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

Great link.

My only slight criticism is that it shows performance with a skilled user.
We're not always so lucky so the missing dimension is how forgiving each crimptool is in the hands of lesser artisans.

Re: Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

A ratcheting crimper is the most forgiving for untrained people. Once it has been set properly it won't release automatically until the crimp has been successfully completed. Using uninsulated terminals also helps dramatically improve the success rate as they are easier to visually verify proper orientation before crimping and that the crimp was properly completed.

Re: Why you should buy a decent wire crimper
 

If you are looking for professional crimpers but can't afford them - look for the AutomationDirect Coupon in the KOP this year. You can use it to buy ANYTHING in their 13,000 part catalog, including high end crimpers:

(These are VERY similar to the blue handled ANCOR ones shown above)

BM-533 8-2 AWG
BM-534 22-10 AWG
BM-537 22-12 AWG
BM-539 10-6 AWG
BM5345 Kit with dies for all wires

And of course the lugs and zip ties to go with 'em: here