How to Crimp

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HOW TO CRIMP THE TERMINALS CORRECTLY

how to do it correctly. The terminal, crimped with pliers, does not look good and for sure some special tool is intended for this.

It is, a device. intended for crimping the terminals is called a crimper and it looks like this.

Crimper is essentially a press that gives the terminal a certain shape.

The quality of the crimp terminals is determined by two factors:

the antennae of the terminal should bite into the insulation of the wire, then the terminal will not fly off good contact between terminal and wire.

If you don’t have to think about the first factor when crimping, the shape of its sponges is designed in such a way that the antennae necessarily cry into the insulation, but how to make good contact is worth considering, especially if the wire is very thin.

Regardless of whether the wire is thick or thin, you can ensure good contact by crimping it, as shown in the AMP Tyco TE Connectivity PRO-CRIMPER HOW-TO video.

When bending the wire, good contact is guaranteed.

I would like to note that he is able to compress a wire with a cross section from 0.5-1.5 mm2, which is quite enough for me, but not enough for an auto electrician, the latter needs something more powerful and more expensive.

1. What is terminal crimping

Crimping (crimping, press, crimping) is a method of permanently connecting a wire (cable) with a connector, in which the conductor is inserted into the cylinder of the connector, which is then compressed around the wire to form a solid connection. Or in a simple way - this is installing the connector using a crimper.

Technically, the conductor and connector are deformed at such a high pressure that the materials seem to merge together, the oxide layers are destroyed and a high-quality gas-tight compound is obtained, the mechanical and electrical properties of which exceed the properties of the wire itself. A side and important effect of this combination process (cold fusion) is that the mechanical strength and electrical conductivity increase with compression. But only until a certain point. Classiscal graph exists that shows the dependence of the strength and conductivity of materials on compression.

Typically, the mechanical strength of the joint is greatest when the total cross-sectional area of ​​copper has been reduced by 10%. With less compression, the wire may pop out of the connector. If the compression is too strong, the strands of wire tend to deform and break. The experiments showed that the maximum conductivity occurs during compression of about 30%. This is due to a more effective destruction of the oxide layers between the terminal and the wire arising from a more severe deformation. However, with such compression, the mechanical strength of the materials is greatly degraded.

Optimum crimping is a compromise between electrical requirements and mechanical characteristics. The graph shows that the optimal compression for many types of connectors lies within 10-20% of the original section. The force and crimp profile must be designed to provide the optimum electrical and mechanical characteristics required for a particular application.

The crimping method has advantages over screw fixing and soldering. Everyone who has ever connected stripped wires with screw terminals understands that this is not the best method. Wires are often pinched and broken, or uncompressed and fall out! Soldering requires certain conditions, skills and at least access to a 220 Volt network, which is not always possible. To overcome these problems, cable lugs have been developed in the last century to ensure the correct electrical connection. Today, crimping is the main method of attaching a connector to a wire or cable. In fact, crimping is relatively inexpensive compared to other alternatives; it has been tried, tested and proven.

The benefits of crimping:

• Tested and tested - used in all industries around the world.

• Low cost of connectors and installation - mass production has reduced the cost of parts and tools.

• Reliable - tested for over 100 years.

• Fast - The latest crimp tool designs provide superior mounting speed.

• Affordable - connectors are made for almost any application.

• Simple monitoring and verification - from visual to laboratory methods.

• Does not require heating or chemicals - a safer method.

• It does not require high qualifications - modern crimpers minimize the risk of human error.

• Environmentally friendly - no harmful gases are emitted, as in the case of soldering.

2. Types of cable lugs (according to crimping profile)

3. Open Cylinder Terminal Lugs

This type of connector is often called auto terminals or terminal clamps. The original name for these connectors is “open barrel” (“open barrel” or “open cylinder”). They got the name because of the appearance of their mounting shank, which looks like a cut tube with the petal walls turned outward in some way resembling butterfly wings. There are many forms of open cylinder shank connectors. They are used in automobiles, household appliances, Hi-Fi equipment, etc.

The crimp profile in cross section is usually B-shaped with petals biting into the insulation and conductors. These connectors are relatively cheap to manufacture, and since they can be supplied as a chain (connected together), they are ideal for high volume production using fully automatic cutting belts and end machines. However, the crimp shape itself is one of the most difficult to crimp, especially when using a hand tool. Only high-quality hand held press tongs can give repeatable stable crimping of terminal connectors.

4. Sleeve cable lugs

They can be isolated and not. They are used to improve the conductivity, protection and reliability of the conductor fastening. Provides a tight connection to terminal blocks and screw connectors. In such tips, not the shank is crimped, but the front of the connector. Crimp profiles: trapezoid, square, hexagon, dodecahedron.

5. Tubular bare cable lugs

They are made of sheet or pipe copper and brass. The seams of the connector tube can be welded together to provide better crimping of the tip. The press pliers matrix usually has a protrusion-tooth for pressing the tube, or may have a hexagonal profile for large sections. A feature of non-insulated tubular connectors is that when crimping, they must be properly aligned. The seam of the tube should be in the center above, otherwise it may be damaged.

Types of tabular bare cable lugs:

1. ring tinned copper tip

2. fork tinned copper tip

3. flat tinned copper tip

4. tinned copper pin

6. Tubular insulated cable lugs

Tubular tips with insulating coating. The crimp profile is usually oval or oval-like. The insulation is color-coded to indicate the cross-section of the compatible wire: red 0.5 - 1.5 mm2, blue 1.5 - 2.5 mm2 and yellow 4.0 - 6.0 mm2. The inner edges of the insulation are often curved outward to allow easy wire entry into the connector. A feature of insulated cylindrical connectors is that when crimping, they must be properly aligned (seam in the center above) to ensure that the soldered seam is not damaged.

Types of tubular insulated cable lugs

1. Male plug connector

2. Fork Insulated Connector

3. Ring insulated connector

4. Flat fully insulated female connector

5. Flat insulated female connector

6. Flat insulated male connector

7. Plug-in insulated connector "mother"

8. Connecting pipe insulated

9. Heat shrink insulated connecting pipe

7. Pin Turned Pin Contacts (D-SUB)

Pin connectors are of very high quality and value. Available in Mom and Dad configurations. Used in high density modular plugs and outlets. Crimp profile is usually square. Due to the small size of these connectors on crimping tools (crimpers), special holders are usually provided for securing the connector.

8. Coaxial connectors for crimping

BNC, TNC, SMA, SMB, SMC, F

Radio frequency coaxial connector (RF connector, Radio frequency connector) - designed to connect a coaxial cable to equipment and to connect two coaxial cables together. There are two types of connectors: plugs (pin part, “male”) and sockets (female part, “female”). Coaxial connectors typically require two crimps, one on the center pin and the other on the braid sleeve.

BNC Connector (Bayonet Neill-Concelman)

The most common, is widely used in video and radio frequency (RF) applications for 2.4 GHz networks,

10BASE2 Ethernet, cable connections, network cards and measuring instruments. BNC connectors are mounted on a coaxial cable with a diameter of up to 8 mm (RG59, RG58, RG-6, RG-51).

TNC Connector (Threaded Neill-Concelman)

BNC version of threaded connector. It operates at frequencies up to 12 GHz. Used in antennas.

SMA Connector (Sub-miniature version A)

One of the most common RF / microwave connectors. It works up to 12.4 GHz, and possibly up to 18 or 24 GHz. Used in avionics, radar and microwave communications. The plug (male connector) has a 7.925 mm hex nut, internal thread, and protruding contact. SMA connectors are designed for 500 cycles of connection / disconnection provided that the nut is properly tightened. Correct tightening requires a torque wrench (0.3-0.6 N • m for copper connectors and 0.8-1 N • m for steel).

SMB connector (Sub-miniature version B)

This is a smaller version of SMC and they are smaller than SMA. Has a snap clutch. Designed for frequencies from 2-4 GHz, but can work up to 10 GHz. SMBs are mounted on cables: 3 mm / 1.7 mm (outer / inner diameter) and 2.2 mm / 1.0 mm (outer / inner diameter).

SMC Connector (Sub-miniature version C)

It is a small screw version of the SMA. Used up to 10 GHz, mainly in microwave environments. Locked with thread. A layer of gold, nickel, silver or other metals can be applied to the connectors. They are used to connect Wi-Fi equipment with antennas and in microwave devices with increased requirements for vibration protection. Diameter of compatible coaxial cable: 2 mm to 3 mm.

F - connector

Designed for television equipment. The cheapest high frequency connector to date. Operating frequency up to 2150 MHz. F-type connectors are usually mounted on coaxial cable with a diameter of up to 7 mm. In connectors for cables with a diameter of up to 11 mm, a special insert and a nozzle on the central core are used.

9. Crimp fiber optic adhesive connectors

Proper crimping of the fiber optic connector ensures that tensile forces are transmitted to the connector rather than fiberglass. The crimping process involves the body of the optical connector, a metal crimp sleeve and an aramid thread (also known as Kevlar®), which is a cable reinforcing element. Crimpers for crimping are divided into two main types: the first for connectors FC, SC, ST and the second for LC connectors.

10. Modular plugs for RJ45, RJ11, RJ14, RJ25 interfaces

Registered Jack (RJ) - a standardized physical network interface that includes a plug and a port. It is used to connect telecommunication equipment. Although the leading edge of these connectors is largely standardized by international specifications, the body of the connectors of different manufacturers may vary. These connectors, in fact, are not crimp connectors, but are IDC (Insulation Displacement Connectors). IDC connectors have sharp pins, which, when punching the wire, strip off the insulation and make contact with the conductor.

Standards and slang names of RJ connectors:

P is the number of places for conductors.

C is the number of conductors in the connector.

* The RJ-9 standard does not exist, this is the common name for the 4P4C and 4P2C connectors

* The RJ-12 standard does not exist, this is the common name for the RJ-25 (6P6C)

standard * The RJ-22 standard does not exist, this is the common name for the 4P4C and 4P2C connectors

* Standard RJ-45 does not exist, it is the common name for the eight-wire 8P8C connector

11. Wire Cross Section (PPP)

For a quality tip installation, the wire must be of the desired type and cross-section, it is also important to properly prepare it. The declared and actual cross-sections of the conductor are not always the same! The nominal cross-sectional area (PPP) has little to do with the actual PPP. This is because the indicated cross section (for example 0.75 mm ² , 1.5 mm ² , 2.5 mm ² , etc.) is based on the conductivity of a standard copper conductor of this cross section, but the same wire with high conductivity copper will have a lower PPP. In addition, the outer diameter of the wire in the insulation can vary greatly.

Example: The declared wire cross section in examples A, B, C, D = 18 AWG (0.8 mm ² ). In doing so, we observe the following:

• The cross-sectional area of ​​conductor B and C is 18% larger than that of A

• The effective outer diameter of the conductors D is 38% larger than that of A

• The outer diameter of B is 2 times the diameter of C.