Crimp tool for open barrel terminals?

[Zeyneb]

Dear people,

I’m thinking about buying a crimping tool for open barrel terminals. I would like to make various car enhancements and I realized the housings of TE Connectivity’s FASTIN-FASTON match the ones I can find in my car. So, I think I’m bound to the FASTIN-FASTON. terminals too. I consider pricing and availability of these housings and terminals okay. I can buy it from Digikey and Mouser.

Then I realized TE brand crimping tool is of course excessively expensive. So, after searching through this forum for a suggestion of a general open barrel crimping tool, I do consider Pressmaster MCT FRAME crimping tool with an appropriate die: possibly the 4300-3146.

My primary concern is good compatibility with the terminal size and shape to get good consistent results.

Therefore my main question is for open barrel end terminals, do companies like TE add features to that shape to cause problems with a general crimping tool like Pressmaster MCT FRAME? Of course I need to select the appropriate die size (area in mm2 or AWG range). But is there more to consider to ensure compatibility? For example the material, FASTIN-FASTON ones are brass, ok?

As I’m a citizen from the Netherlands, importing stuff from the USA has a severe cost penalty. So, the Swedish Pressmaster might be a good one. I’ve also heard about Engineer Inc. from Japan, but their website doesn’t tell if they have distributors in Europe.

Do you maybe have other suggestions for a crimping tools for open barrel terminals that I should consider? Preferably in Europe.

Best regards,
Zeyneb

[Muttley Snickers]

There is already a stack of good information and advice in the thread linked below and probably more elsewhere on the forum.   

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/what-crimping-tool-do-you-use-for-quick-connect-terminals/

[WastelandTek]

ratcheting type...all the way

[Neomys Sapiens]

Of course the ratcheting type should be preferred. In my toolcase I use a AMP SuperChamp non-ratcheting type for size reasons, but you have to really watch for the position. Of the ratcheting ones, my preferred one is the Daniels GMT225 respectively the HX-3/HX-4. But there are fitting dies for the ratcheting crimp tools from Weidmueller, Knipex, Klauke and also the generic ones from Hoffmann Tools.

[Prime]

Your best bet in that part of the world would be Pressmaster, Klauke or Knipex.

I have a Hellerman crimping tool which works reasonably well.

[jeroen79]

The Japanese Engineer crimpers can be bought from Amazon. (.de or .co.uk)

[2N3055]

Pressmaster is absolutely superb!!  I have them and they are of good quality and make superb crimp.

[nanofrog]

The Japanese Engineer crimpers can be bought from Amazon. (.de or .co.uk)

There are also Japanese sellers on eBay that sell them at reasonable prices (i.e. PA-09 for ~$48 shipped).

Pressmaster is absolutely superb!!  I have them and they are of good quality and make superb crimp.

Indeed.    I've even heard them called the Rolls Royce of ratcheting crimpers. 

You wouldn't be disappointed with Wezag or Daniels Manufacturing Corp. either. Rennsteig/Kinipex, are reported to be decent as well. Sargent too, but they've seriously cut back on the available dies (they used to carry more than any other manufacturer at one time).

[Zeyneb]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I contacted Pressmaster and they are willing to experiment with a few terminals that I should send them. So that is nice.

You know TE FASTIN-FASTON is basically the 0.25", 0.187", 0.110" Quick connect/disconnect terminals to be employed in a housing. Both the receptacle (female) and tab (male) terminals have some tab to keep them locked in the housing. The housings are also within the FASTIN product series. According to Digikey and Mouser there aren't more manufacturers that offer these. At least not with good availability and reasonable pricing. So, I think I cannot use anything else but FASTIN-FASTON. The thing that worries me a bit is that for almost every terminal in the FASTIN series the the specification for the required wire insulation diameter is larger than what I have on my wires. So, in theory the terminals will have limited grip on the insulation. The only thing I can think of as a workaround is to employ a tiny ring of heat-shrink tube to increase the diameter by 0.6 mm.

I hope someone have a more practical trick for me about this.

Best regards,
Zeyneb

[nanofrog]

An alternative would be to pick up an Engineer PA-09 for example, and re-crimp the insulation portion. They only crimp one section at a time, which makes them more flexible than relying on heatshrink.  .

There are eBay sellers in Japan that will sell internationally. 

BTW, I got my pair from the seller that's linked above. Shipping was quick too. 

[Zeyneb]

Hi all,

I just figured out that TE sells much more different terminals than the catalog describes. These are on their website and not in the **outdated** catalog. So now I can find tabs and receptacles for 1.4 to 2.3mm diameter insulation. Even TE chat agents didn't point me to this. Quite bad. I feel like an archeologist in selecting the right stuff to buy. I totally hate their documentation. It's lacking to communicate the most basic info for what is important from the customers perspective. Like, why they have developed this connector system? What do mating dimples do for me? How can I figure out what mates with what? For what are Packard Style terminals good for? etcetera.

How many hours of live chat time can they save when they are having documentation that assist in product navigation in the first place?

Now TE will be suing me for this anti TE rant. Or they take it as feedback.

[Lomax]

I have this tool (Pressmaster MCT) and lots of dies (15+). It's definitely one of the most loved - and used - items in my toolbox. I would need a separate toolbox just for carrying the crimping pliers in if I had all these as dedicated individual pliers. And yes, it does a superb job crimping open barrel connectors. And endsleeves. And RJ45/RJ11. And coaxes. And closed barrel. And insulated barrel. And... you get the idea. I even do Molex crimps with mine which works ok, though I do wish that Pressmaster/Wiha/Lapp/Cembre/Abiko (the same identical tool is available from all these brands) would make official Molex dies available, especially for the Mini-Fit/JR and Dupont style terminals.

Edit: List of brand & model names for the MCT

Pressmaster	MCT
Wiha	PortaCrimp
Lapp Kabel	Mobile Crimp Tool
Cembre	IDT
Abiko	Mobile
Elpress	Mobile

[2N3055]

I have this tool (Pressmaster MCT) and lots of dies (15+). It's definitely one of the most loved - and used - items in my toolbox. I would need a separate toolbox just for carrying the crimping pliers in if I had all these as dedicated individual pliers. And yes, it does a superb job crimping open barrel connectors. And endsleeves. And coaxes. And closed barrel. And insulated barrel. And... you get the idea. I even do Molex crimps with mine which works ok, though I do wish that Pressmaster/Wiha/Lapp/Cembre/Abiko (the same identical tool is available from all these brands) would make official Molex dies available, especially for the Mini-Fit/JR and Dupont style terminals.

I'm also on a good way to such a collection... 

I would really like if they did make official Molex die.. Maybe it's a copyright thing? If not, they should...

Regards,

Sinisa

[Lomax]

I would really like if they did make official Molex die.. Maybe it's a copyright thing? If not, they should...

I would suspect so, though shouldn't be a problem if license fee is paid - after all, this is how Molex make their money... Another issue might be that crimp tool manufacturers simply don't want this type of tool to be too successful, as it might threaten the ridiculous profitability of their dedicated tools.

[Lomax]

I'm also on a good way to such a collection... 

Then you might find my cross-referenced list of the available dies useful. There are (at least) 46 in total!

[HighVoltage]

Then you might find my cross-referenced list of the available dies useful. There are (at least) 46 in total!

Very helpful, Thank you!

[2N3055]

I'm also on a good way to such a collection... 

Then you might find my cross-referenced list of the available dies useful. There are (at least) 46 in total!

Thanks a lot!!

Take care!!

[nanofrog]

Another issue might be that crimp tool manufacturers simply don't want this type of tool to be too successful, as it might threaten the ridiculous profitability of their dedicated tools.

It's to do with compliance (i.e. list of approved tooling), so the dedicated crimp tool market is safe. In the case of interchangeable die systems, they're missing locators which can allow too much variance in wire & terminal placement.

Then you might find my cross-referenced list of the available dies useful. There are (at least) 46 in total!

Very nice.  Thanks for this, as some particular dies can be hard to find IME (some were even discontinued, such as the one for flag terminals  ).

[Lomax]

It's to do with compliance (i.e. list of approved tooling), so the dedicated crimp tool market is safe. In the case of interchangeable die systems, they're missing locators which can allow too much variance in wire & terminal placement.

I understand, but cannot help reflecting over the vast quantity of sub-standard crimping tools flooding the market. No such considerations appear to matter to the manufacturers of these - and, let's face it, these cheap tools are what many of us tend to use. I would much prefer if there were dies available for the MCT that were designed to crimp Molex connectors, even if that meant the crimps would not pass aerospace certification. Instead I'm faced with having to use Pressmaster's "open barrel" crimping dies to do Molex crimps - which can be done, but with less than perfect results. A case in point: right now I'm building a WWAN alarm system for my boat, and need to crimp both Mini-Fit Micro connectors (for the WWAN modem power port) and Mini-Fit JR connectors (for the PSU/UPS board) - there is no way that I would ever be able to justify spending $1500-3000 on a pair of dedicated official Molex tools for this, or even the $1000 I might be able to pick them up used for - but I still need to get those connectors done somehow.

[nanofrog]

I assumed your statement was restricted to the professional stuff, particularly if purchased from a terminal manufacturer (quite a markup). So my apologies. 

Try an Engineer PA-09 for Molex. Granted, they crimp each area separately (make 2 crimps per terminal), but it solves the spacing and insulation damage. And at reasonable price. 

[Lomax]

Try an Engineer PA-09 for Molex. Granted, they crimp each area separately (make 2 crimps per terminal), but it solves the spacing and insulation damage. And at reasonable price. 

Actually, it should be quite simple to modify the smallest MCT open barrel die (4300-3150) to wrap the strain relief tabs instead of bending them into the cable by removing the dimple in the top part of the die with a, well, a die grinder.

Edit: Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I cannot see why Pressmaster couldn't make a die that would crimp Molex connectors at least as well as the PA-09. And call it a "power connector" die or whatever, to avoid Molex patent infringement claims.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Even TE chat agents didn't point me to this.

This company has really brought industry to a new low. They don't know anything about their own products. The former Raychem sales&support organisation in Germany was excellent, after TE it became simply abysmal. They don't know their own products even if you point them towards!

[nanofrog]

Edit: Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I cannot see why Pressmaster couldn't make a die that would crimp Molex connectors at least as well as the PA-09. And call it a "power connector" die or whatever, to avoid Molex patent infringement claims.

FWIW, they licensed both the Weatherpack and Metripack copyright from Delphi Packard on those particular dies (don't think the patent still applies as they've been around awhile now). Perhaps Molex won't allow them to license their copyright and they wanted to avoid the confusion of making a Molex specific die under some other name. 

[Lomax]

FWIW, they licensed both the Weatherpack and Metripack copyright from Delphi Packard on those particular dies (don't think the patent still applies as they've been around awhile now). Perhaps Molex won't allow them to license their copyright and they wanted to avoid the confusion of making a Molex specific die under some other name. 

And the Solarlok and MC3/MC4 dies are also proprietary.

[Lomax]

The security/monitoring system for my boat, 95% complete - thanks to the MCT!

Edit: Crimps required to complete this project:

• M3-M5 open barrel ring terminals
• RJ45
• RG174 SMA
• Mini-Fit JR
• Micro-Fit
• Mini-PV / Dupont