Wire crimping is inevitable when making electrical crimp connections in general electrical installations or network cable linkages.
For most people, using the typical pair of pliers is often the go-to method of crimping wires.
However, this is less effective than using a crimping tool.
This component provides a way to connect all sorts of wires without leaving room for breakages or disconnection.
In our guide today, we’ll walk you through everything about crimping, tell you what it takes and also look at the popular tools for the job.
Table of Contents
- What is Crimping? What is a Crimping Tool?
- What types of crimping tools are there?
- How to Crimp Wires
- Can you crimp wires without a crimper?
- Summary
What is Crimping? What is a Crimping Tool?
A Wire Crimper.
Crimping is the art of combining ductile materials such as electrical wires primarily by deforming one of them to fit into the other.
What we refer to as a crimp is mainly the deformity on one of the combining ductile metals that helps create the bond.
Also noteworthy, crimping doesn’t necessarily only mean combining two wires.
It also involves fitting a wire to a crimp connector which is typically a metallic head that allows the formation of an airtight connection with the wire.
A crimping tool is a valuable gadget for connecting two wires or a wire and an electrical connector.
Its cardinal role is creating a neat electrical system with a resulting moisture-proof bond that could lead to electrical shorts and connection faults.
The alternative to a crimping tool is to solder the two parts together.
Hence, this device lets you fix wires without using soldering iron and wire. Also, not that crimping is not just limited to making electrical connections.
You’ll also find it in the manufacturing and electronics assembly industry for joinery of different metallic parts.
What types of crimping tools are there?
Check out our wide range of crimping tools, each suited to a particular role.
Bootlace crimping tool
Electric wires with crimped terminals.
As per its name, this is the ideal tool for Bootlaces crimping.
A bootlace crimp is primarily a metal connector that combines with the wire in an encasing plastic tubule which is often color coded.
A bootlace crimp role is to create a screw terminal that connects a wire with numerous strands without splitting them.
The crimp brings the different wires into one fold and forms an airtight connection, ensuring no signal loss at the joint.
Thin cable precision crimping tool
An electrician crimping thin wires
Crimping thin cables is delicate because errors can be costly in the final joint. Therefore, we don’t advise you to use conventional crimping tools like the aforementioned bootlace type.
The ideal tool is this thin cable precision tool, making it effortless to crimp such wires thanks to its ratchet feature.
QM & IP68 connectors Crimp Tool
It’s the best crimping tool for all grades of QM and IP68 connectors, and one of its standout features is its versatility.
Therefore, this should be your go-to tool whenever you’re looking to build transmission system connectors.
It will deal with different AWG wire gauges, from 24 for the QM connectors to 28 for the IP68 connectors.
So you can bank on it to get the job done for different wire sizes and thicknesses.
Crimping tool for splice connectors
Compact splicing connector with connected wire.
Are you looking to crimp splice connectors?
Look no further than this crimping tool that perfectly crimps all sorts of splice connectors- from butt splice to gel-filled connectors.
This component will do the job better than the typical generic crimping tool.
Crimping tool for coaxial cable
A Coaxial cable crimper.
Crimping coaxial cables requires a unique tool fundamentally because the typical broadband cable has more than one layer.
It features a wire conductor layer encased by a cover that conducts, so it takes a special tool to create the perfect joint involving both layers.
The critical consideration you need to make when choosing a coaxial cable crimping tool is its impedance.
Coaxial cables have an impedance rating, so you must pick a tool that matches the cable you’re connecting.
How to Crimp Wires
It is easy to crimp wires, but you must primarily pick the right tool for the job you want to be done.
We have covered that in detail above, so check out the best crimper plier for your crimping.
You can also use electrical wire crimpers, but manual crimpers will do the job for a simple DIY exercise.
Materials Needed
Crimp Connectors.
- Quality crimp terminals/ crimp barrels– Ideally, the parts you will use to insert the wire into for crimping.
- Stranded Wire– We insist you use a cable with numerous small wires rather than a solid core wire. A stranded cable makes the best connections because pressing smaller wires together is easy rather than one single connector.
- Heatshrink Tubing– It is primarily part of the crimp connector, but you can also buy it separately. The tubing encases the joint area, thus protecting it from water or anything that can weaken the joint or affect conductivity.
- Wire Stripper and Household Wire Cutter– You will need a tool to remove the plastic covering of your cable/wire to expose the conducting part for connection. Any typical wire stripper will do the job.
Wire Crimping Procedure
Using a Crimping Tool.
- First, using your wire stripper, remove the outer cover of the wire at the end where you want to crimp to the connector. Don’t damage the conducting wires, so strip the cover gently. The length of the stripper part should be a few inches greater than the length of your crimp terminal. Wire stripping exposes the parts to connect to the connector. You can also use the household wire cutter in place of the stripper.
- Next, insert your naked wire onto the crimp barrel and perfectly ensure it fits where you want it in the final crimp. Place the part of the joint onto the crimping tool and confirm the alignment of the two is perfect.
- Press the manual crimper tool until the two parts are enjoined into one. Note that while there are different types of crimping tools you could use, the crimping process is almost similar. But using a pair of pliers is more complicated as you must crimp the insulation and conductor separately.
- Now check if you have created an excellent bond. A faulty crimp will not efficiently conduct electricity, so all the cross-sections of the bond should be fully one part. So, if you note some defects, repeat the process.
- Finally, insert the heat shrink tubing onto the joint for secure crimps. We encourage you to shrink this over the joint via a heat gun to ensure it fits as part of the wire’s outer cover.
- Now you have excellent insulated connectors and wire terminals.
Can you crimp wires without a crimper?
Crimping with pliers.
Some people use pliers for crimping, but the quality of the resulting joint is a significant issue.
It’s not as perfect as you would get with a proper crimper, so it would be best to use a crimping tool over pliers.
The main issue with using alternative tools like pliers is the high likelihood of trapping air onto the joint.
It weakens the connection; thus, for effective crimped connections, you need a real crimper for quality assurance.
Also, pliers for wire ferrule will be ineffective for mass production operations.
Summary
Take heed of the insights covered in this article for clean and perfect crimped connections.
Crimping ensures a quick way to make connections, and we advocate for it when you want to avoid undergoing the hectic of soldering.
The essence of the process is that it facilitates creating a connector that ensures you won’t experience any electrical leaks or signal loss for broadband connectors.
So invest in a crimping tool that will be useful for your crimping work in electrical installations.
