Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?

wilriker

~~Not sure how the correct name for this is in English (can anyone please tell me, because all translation engines give me totally different results )~~ Thanks to @deckingman now I know that what I mean are these guys and they are named crimp terminals
and their variations that in 3D printing world you would mostly use to connect wires to PSU, a switch, an external MOSFET or SSR, etc.

I do have a crappy I-can-do-everything-(but-nothing-really-good)-wire-stripper that also can crimp these but I am looking for a better solution. I also bought a really cheap ratcheting tool to do this but returned it the next day because even on the highest pressure adjustment (that took me two hands to close the crimping tool) the wires weren't properly fixed and I suddenly had the live wire (of 230V) flying around (luckily the switch was turned off at this time because this could have ended bad otherwise).

I prefer manual tools even if they are slower to use but in my recent experience they just produce better results. But in the end I am open to any recommendation. My current favorite after researching a lot is Knipex 97 22 240.

Phaedrux

I use a tool very similar to the one linked and it works alright. A racheting tool would be easier on the hands and give you consistent results though. With that toolkits all about how hard you can squeeze. And if you're doing a lot of crimps can be painful. And depending on the length of boot you might be crimping each 2 or 3 times.

deckingman

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Cable Lug Crimping Tool?:

Not sure how the correct name for this is in English (can anyone please tell me, because all translation engines give me totally different results ) but what I mean are these guys:

Those are called "Ring Terminals". For future ref, this might help http://thetada.com/wire-terminals-types

dc42

I have a crimp tool from Maplin (now defunct) similar to https://www.rapidonline.com/anvil-av-crmpa-ratchet-action-crimp-tool-for-insulated-terminals-85-0212.

wilriker

@deckingman Thanks Ian.

I hereby also name you the English Translation Helper of the forum. After helping someone (I think it was @JoergS5) a few days ago with the you/one/someone thing, now helping me here.

Am I right in thinking that the category of these parts is then called just terminals? I mean like ring and spade and fork terminals. Or would I then rather refer to wire terminals?

@dc42 Thanks. This is the same type I had bad luck with but mine was an exceptionally cheap one so that might already make a lot of difference.

deckingman

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Cable Lug Crimping Tool?:

@deckingman Thanks Ian.

Am I right in thinking that the category of these parts is then called just terminals? I mean like ring and spade and fork terminals. Or would I then rather refer to wire terminals?

"Crimp terminals" would probably be the best all encompassing name for them.

wilriker

@deckingman OK. And I guess I could then also specify it just a tiny bit clearer in saying "insulated crimp terminals", right? Because the insulated and non-insulated need different tools.

deckingman

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?:

@deckingman OK. And I guess I could then also specify it just a tiny bit clearer in saying "insulated crimp terminals", right? Because the insulated and non-insulated need different tools.

Yes that would be better.

Maut

I'm using this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-11477-Ratcheting-Terminal/dp/B0069TRKJ0

hayseed_byte

For regular ring/fork terminals, I use Klien Crimpers. My dad bought the ones I use in the early 90's when he was a maintenance technician and now I use them as a maintenance technician. They last forever, create strong crimps and are simple to use. I've never seen anyone use the ratcheting ones for regular crimp terminals.

sigxcpu

I got this https://www.banggood.com/Paron-JX-D5301-Multifunctional-Ratchet-Crimping-Tool-Wire-Strippers-Terminals-Pliers-Kit-p-1175325.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CN.

Tested the Molex KK for Duet only, but other dies look fine, too.

crynool

Over the last couple of weeks, I bought a lot (and I mean a lot) of Crimping Tools from Amazon for testing purposes for all kind of Crimp Terminals.
I kept some, sent others back, most between 15 and 50 USD.

Some are good (the manual ones, give you good control over the crimp), others are really bad

JoergS5

@crynool I thought the isolated crimps and the tool which crimps in one step is the best solution. But yesterday the main voltage connection to Duet slipped out. I had unhappy results with crimping yellow connector to solarcable before also.

So I will use a manual tool for unisolated crimps in the future with the 2-step procedure, protecting the crimp after I am sure the connection is secure.

I bought the PA-09 and PA-20, they seem to be very good.

crynool

@joergs5
Yup, they are, have them both as well as another one, same company. Missed the Return Window.

The yellow in the middle squeezed the wire and damaged the insulation ... nothing shrink tube cannot fix, but ...

JoergS5

@crynool funny, the crimp tool which failed so dangerously is also yellow. So it's proven that yellow crimp tools don't work

autsch

The best for the price (a have it in orange and blue):
alt text
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/Crimpen-zangen-HS-03BC-8-backe-f-r-stecker-rohr-insuated-nicht-isolierende-crimpen-kappe-koaxialkabel/32893154249.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.276.24853c00aaDUdm
I have the 190mm and 230mm Version.

wilriker

@hayseed_byte These Klein Crimpers look basically like the beefy manual tool I was hoping to find. Will have to see if I can get them at a reasonable price here in Germany, though.

From someone whose opinion I trust very much I also got a recommendation for ratcheting tool BGS 1412.

autsch

@wilriker why buy in germany, when they are manufactured in China?
It looks like you only want to talk about crimping
Here my recomendation Nr 2, price made in germany:
https://www.bauhaus.info/crimpzangen/knipex-crimp-hebelzange/p/11025709

wilriker

@autsch If I would by a ratcheting crimper from Knipex I would prefer the PreciForce one. Only half the price but probably equally good.

Also I do buy from China if I can get the same product - but neither Knipex nor Klein produce in China. And I am tired of cheap tools that don't work, especially if I work with mains voltage. I rarely do but then I don't want to worry about live wires falling out of crimps (as I had with a cheap one already).

But I am still collecting recommendations and will decide a little later.

hayseed_byte

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?:

Also I do buy from China if I can get the same product - but neither Knipex nor Klein produce in China. And I am tired of cheap tools that don't work, especially if I work with mains voltage.

Heh, even though they say they're not insulated because they don't have the rubber coating on the shaft, my Klein 6-in-1 has saved my life more than once. The one I use at work has a pretty gnarly burned spot on the shaft.

Knipex makes good stuff, too. Germany made is usually better than USA Made, I gotta admit. Been eyeing some Knipex dykes lately, myself.