Crimping Question

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Lenp
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Crimping Question

Post by Lenp »

I am getting ready to crimp a large number of 'Dupont' and 'JSC' type terminal pins, used in 2.54 and 3.96 mm connectors. (Like Molex)
The AM-10 power crimper is going to be used so I am looking for a proper die. The Iwiss hand crimper I have works well, but unfortunately the dies are very similar but not interchangeable.
There are many sites that list dies for this machine but in spite of accumulating several dies, I still cannot locate the proper one for these terminals.
Many sell the AM-10 crimper, and some are under a different number, but they are all appear to be importers, with no hands on knowledge, and tech support is nil.
I could probably resort to doing some creative machining on the Iwiss die to make it work, but that would be at the cost of the hand crimping tool.
I am trying to get an Iwiss replacement die but so far that has also been a dead end.

Anyone been down this road with this problem, please shout out!

Thanks,
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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haklesup
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Re: Crimping Question

Post by haklesup »

Have you contacted the supplier of the pins to ask what they recommend. When we have odd pins, sometimes we need to ask the supplier for a referral to the right tools.

In the end, you may have to experiment and modify. Crimped connections can save a lot of money but if done wrong can give you a ton of headaches. High series resistance faults from poor crimps (not forming a cold weld), insulation invading the crimp or damage to the pin caused by the crimper are all common to hand assembly (not including mismatch of wire gauge to the pin). We have abandoned several Molex on favor of Phoenix connectors due to high series resistance failures (~10 year MTTF) which discolor the connector bodies and cause 5V to drop below 3V when current goes up etc.

Recently we just have Samtec assemble some cables for us (in this category), it doesn't cost any more when we subtract our labor and testing costs. you can also get good deals from Pasternak cable even on a custom cable, see their cable creator page
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Lenp
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Re: Crimping Question CLOSING!

Post by Lenp »

Just so this thread doesn't linger, the pin manufacturer (Molex) wanted to sell a $30K automated machine, and their dies were not at all like the AM-10 dies.
I did contact a large number of other suppliers, without success. At the end, I contacted Iwiss, the manufacturer of the hand crimper, to see if they could help.
Surprisingly, they also sell the AM-10 machine and they had the needed die set. Two complete sets were $30 via China Post. They arrived today and they are good quality and exactly what is needed.
Done deal!

The moral is don't quit. If you need something odd, probably someone else also needed it and it's pretty good odds there is someone that has it.

Illegitimi non carborundum
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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Lenp
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Re: Crimping Question (Footnote)

Post by Lenp »

    I just finished crimping about 500 terminals today. Included were Molex style KK in 2.55 and 3.96mm, JST 3.96MM VH series and hands full of 0.25" and 0.187" insulated flag, plus the run of the mill 'blue" and 'red' spade and ring terminals. The AM-10 got a workout, and aside form the racket from the compressor, it worked flawlessly, and the few bad crimps I got were because I didn't properly position the terminal in the die before I hit the pedal.
    If you need to do a lot of crimping I think the AM-10, with its wide array of, sometimes hard to locate, die sets, is still a good deal for the less than mass-production volume user.

    -0- (<--Ancient 'Popular Electronics' article ending mark!)
    Len

    “To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
    "I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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