0.1" (2.54mm) Crimp Connector Housings

[bifferos]

Some experimentation today:

I won't bother with the pictures because it's impossible to tell what is wrong from them with the exception of the insulation, the tolerances are so tight.

• The crimp tool leaves some insulation flaring out from below where it squeezes it.  I initially thought this was the problem but cutting it off changed little.
• Cutting off the 'crimp' part of the crimp terminal, re-shaping with pliers and pushing it in without any wire connected is easy, so the resistance of the tab is not an issue as I'd suggested before.
• Crimping a terminal without any wire at all and pushing it in yields enough resistance to make me suspicious (should have tried that before), so the tool is forming it incorrectly

I guess I now have to decide whether to buy another tool, or just carry on as before with what I've got.  I've certainly not had any reliability problems from connections made in this way, and I could try forming the terminal a little better, work out where exactly it's snagging and compress it with some pliers before insertion.  That may be quicker than poking it in with something.

Thanks for the repllies, interesting (if somewhat frustrating) subject.

[rdl]

Have you looked at the smaller IDC connectors such as TE MTA-100? They do have some disadvantages vs. "DuPont" style individual pin types (bulky for one), but they have some significant advantages also (snap together, no crimper required).

[wraper]

Have you looked at the smaller IDC connectors such as TE MTA-100? They do have some disadvantages vs. "DuPont" style individual pin types (bulky for one), but they have some significant advantages also (snap together, no crimper required).

Crimper which is more like wire pusher IS required if you don't want shitty insertion with maligned insulation and wires not holding well. Also MTA-100 is shit to begin with even when crimped properly. Original TE tool around $30.

[rdl]

Yeah, I guess technically it's not just snap together. The tool you show looks like it must be for individual wires. This type of connector really works best with ribbon cable. I've always used a small vise to squeeze them together. It's pretty obvious if you've done it wrong. I have had very few problems assembling them and no reliability issues. Much simpler and quicker than fiddling with individual terminals. Not a universal solution, just an alternative to be aware off.

[wraper]

^It's not MTA-100 on your video. Short IDC can be pushed together by placing connector on a desk and pushing on top of it by some flat and hard item. For long connectors you can use vise.

This is MTA-100:

[rdl]

You're right. That was the first brand name that came to mind. I have some of those but I'm not sure I ever used any. What I actually meant to suggest was the dual row, ribbon cable type.

[tooki]

Some experimentation today:

I won't bother with the pictures because it's impossible to tell what is wrong from them with the exception of the insulation, the tolerances are so tight.

• The crimp tool leaves some insulation flaring out from below where it squeezes it.  I initially thought this was the problem but cutting it off changed little.
• Cutting off the 'crimp' part of the crimp terminal, re-shaping with pliers and pushing it in without any wire connected is easy, so the resistance of the tab is not an issue as I'd suggested before.
• Crimping a terminal without any wire at all and pushing it in yields enough resistance to make me suspicious (should have tried that before), so the tool is forming it incorrectly

I guess I now have to decide whether to buy another tool, or just carry on as before with what I've got.  I've certainly not had any reliability problems from connections made in this way, and I could try forming the terminal a little better, work out where exactly it's snagging and compress it with some pliers before insertion.  That may be quicker than poking it in with something.

Thanks for the repllies, interesting (if somewhat frustrating) subject.

There you go, at least now you’ve nailed down where the problem lies. If you plan on using DuPont connectors in the future, you may want to look at some of the promising tool candidates in the big thread, or put feelers out on eBay and local classifieds for a high quality tool. (That’s how I managed to get a $350 tool, new in box, for $60, which is my preferred crimper for both DuPont and KK254 connectors.)

But you might also wanna take a look at the KK254 style connectors. The original is Molex KK 254 (i.e. 2.54mm aka 0.1” pitch, just like DuPont), but clones are plentiful and cheap. On eBay and AliExpress, they’re commonly called KF2510 connectors. These crimp perfectly in an HT-225 tool. (Indeed, these crimp well in a lot of different tools.) I also find they are more durable — they don’t loosen up the way cheap female DuPont contacts do after a few insertions. And they’re polarized, which would have prevented a couple of magic-smoke-releasing oopsies caused by me getting a DuPont connector the wrong way around. The downside is that they take a bit more board space. Nonetheless, I’m migrating over to these and JST XH* connectors. I will keep DuPont around for breadboarding, though, and for eBay modules and whatnot that already use DuPont headers.

* JST is great — name brand connectors at barely more than eBay clone prices. The XH line is 2.5mm pitch, which will often fit in the footprint of a 2.54mm pitch connector, provided the holes aren’t tiny. In typical protoboard, even a 10-pin XH connector (i.e. one with a cumulative width 0.36mm too small) fits effortlessly. I’m not sure if the HT-225 will crimp these — the crimp “wings” on the terminals are very narrow, as the entire crimp area of these terminals is perhaps half that of a DuPont terminal. But I can check at work if need be.