PCB Standoff Swage Tooling

[spool_of_wire]

Hey I've been using this connector on a few of my PCBs as a standoff. It's called a swage connector and it's made by Keystone electronics.

Here's a link to the part on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/keystone-electronics/5063-2/36-5063-2-ND/318484

Here's the part on Keystone's site: http://www.keyelco.com/product.cfm/product_id/4670

Now you can get some tooling for it - basically a kit and a separate tool that mounts to the arbor press and holds the lower part of the kit to the bottom of the an arbor press.

Here's a link to the catalog page on Keystone's site toward the bottom corner you can see the tool you use to hit it with a hammer or arbor press to set it: http://keyelco.com/userAssets/file/M65p77.pdf

Here's that same tool on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=36-tl-21-nd

And then I got this to attach to the bottom of the arbor press and hold the lower half of the staking tool: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/keystone-electronics/1721/36-1721-ND/315613

So I've been going along at a decent clip and my batches have gradually gotten larger and my arm has been getting more and more sore after each batch. After this past weekend I just decided pulling down on the arbor press over and over is a bear and I want to find a better way.

I tried calling Keystone and they just said people use an arbor press. On one hand I think they're might be right but on the other that's probably just an easy answer and the support guy didn't want to ask what their high volume customers are using.

What I'm looking for is anyone who could hopefully suggest some type of automated press that can crimp the swage connector for me. Low cost preferred, However more importantly is something that just works and is rather quick. If I could even get something that I poured the swage connectors in a bin and it automatically fed them into the press I'd be elated and who cares about cost. 

I'd prefer electric as I do these at home and don't want to create too much noise but if I had to use pneumatic I could. I just want something I buy once and use for years.

I'm open to any and all suggestions and thanks for the help!

-J

[KL27x]

You could go over to castboolits.gunloads.com and look up user named JM Morris, or something like that. He can automate anything with a dishwasher motor and a cam and a stick welder. But the problem with your application is that you have to position each board/standoff between presses and you probably just want one press controlled with a button, so's you don't crush the wrong thing.

I think you might be using an arbor press without enough mechanical leverage for the job. Maybe you could post a pic or link or your arbor press and someone could suggest something better.