Seeking Your Ideas about Upcoming Experimenting with Tooling Challenge

Hi Randall,

Interesting challenge : ) It would be great to see several connectors in the compatible series being a part of a project, because often it's unclear how much use a crimp tool will get, without seeing it in real applications.

In particular, from the tools above, a couple of them support connector families with a lot of combinations (wire-to-wire, wire-to-board and also single and double row), so that from my perspective makes the tool more useful.

The other crimp tools support single and double row wire-to-board connectors, one supports very high current density in a small connector, and the others support high wire density at lower current, so that two of the tools would together support connectors that span a wide range of current and wire density.

Perhaps as an idea, contestants have to suggest their 'to-be-connectorized' : ) project and the different connectors they expect to use. An example could be controlling motors, and using the connectors to attach the motors to the rest of the system.

Also, personally I'm interested if a contestant dares to try the crimp tool on other connectors too (within reason, i.e. only if the connector looks visually similar-ish), because sometimes a crimp tool can do a 'good enough' job on connectors it is not designed for. For instance, I use a Molex tool with Multicomp crimps, it works great. That too increases the versatility and value of getting such a crimp tool.

These are some very nice crimpers, but for a typical hobbyist doing a few projects a year they would likely see very little usage.

I could see all sorts of use for something like a 64016-0201 which can crimp C-Grid SL, SPOX, Micro Fit & KK Series 36-20AWG Contacts. Anything that can plug into a solderless breadboard could be connected with connectors crimped by this tool. It can also crimp connectors that mate with standard .1" headers - an alternative to Dupont jumpers. I don't actually know which Molex crimper would be best for this application, but this one seems to cover the right range.

Another super useful Molex crimper is a 200218-0600 which can crimp 26-8AWG boot lace ferrules. These are great anytime a wire needs to go into a barrier strip but a typical hobbyist might have a hard time affording it. 

I think the cost is the biggest issue for anyone except engineers in a corporate environment - they are hideously expensive.  The Multicomp Pro ones I use, will do dupont, KK crimps really well and cost a tenth of the typical price of a dedicated tool from a named manufacturer like Molex.  I bought a separate Knipex crimper for bootlace ferrules, essentially just a fancy plier, again at a tenth of the typical price.

Nonetheless, that's not really the issue here but how to experiment with them.  It would be easy to fall into just a roadtest - e.g, say, comparing a Molex crimper to the Multicomp Pro crimper, or reporting on how frustratingly pernickety they are to get a good crimp.  It's difficult though because a crimper is really a one-trick pony - it crimps!  So I think Shabaz is on to something: can it create good or good-enough crimps for connectors that it wasn't specifically intended for; can crimp heads from other manufacturers, that one might have on hand, be shoe-horned in and work; could it be worked with a knee whilst both hands are busy holding wire and crimp; could two smaller gauge wires be crimped into one terminal - three??  What about this: could you create a motorised activator - stick the handles into the activator and have it squeeze until the crimping ratchet releases (I think that's gone beyond the bounds of what you are looking for .)

As difficult as it seems at the moment - and I will continue to scratch my head for other ideas - I think it's a great idea to look at them from an experimentation view rather than a roadtest which, to be honest with these types of things, will only tell us that, "yes, it does what it says on the tin".

I use this crimp often www.molex.com/.../0039000039 . My tool is not performing up to par. It is a cheap foreign knock-off and the pins are from a number of sources. Being cheap has its downsides. As DW indicates purchasing a commercial-grade tool for the hobbyist is usually price prohibitive.

I would like to see some evaluation on how easy a tool is to use. I have used some crimp tools that are difficult. Holding the tool, crimp and wire require a third hand extending from your chest. Using the tool can be frustrating. Some tools are rather large. Using them in tight spaces (i.e. cable in place inside a cabinet) is difficult.

Maybe having a list of use cases for crimps would provide some value instead of testers creating their own list. Creating challenging use cases comes with tool experience. Crimping with less than ideal conditions is a good test of a tool.

Hi Andrew,

Regarding motorized activator, that's an interesting point... I think a some of these crimp tools are made in what looks like two separate pieces of functionality, the top head part looks like it could be sold separately for factory automation, and the handle is attached for the manual versions.

At least one Molex tool I have, looks like the head portion is separately manufactured and just requires a centre rod pulled down (i.e. easy to do for a motor) to activate, and the handles convert the lever motion into that centre motion.

I guess that goes a long way to explain the cost, since effectively it's a factory-grade tool for hundreds of thousands of crimps, but are just sold with the handles also attached to make the manual version.

The more I read about it and the more I think about it, this could be a very interesting road test even without a specific application.

As far as an application goes, I would love to be able to shorten the cables on an ATX power supply when converting it to a bench supply. This could be done by cutting the cables and crimping new connectors on.

These supplies use Molex 39-01-2240 and Molex 39-01-2200 housings. I'm not quite sure if the 0638190901 above can crimp contacts for these connectors. It doesn't look like appropriate female contacts are in the list above.

These are helpful ideas. Helps me to see the possibilities. Thanks

Good points: ease of use, ergonomics are good approaches. I think we could get a list of use cases. Thanks for mentioning.

These experimenting design challenges can be all over the place. Something I have learned. So you mention things I have not thought of. I appreciate your comment and suggestions. A comparison with Multicomp Pro crimpers seems to be one of the possibilities. 

I didn't notice it at first until I saw molex sells "crimping heads." So, I presume you can buy a different head for a different crimp-terminal size, type, etc.