Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
How Do You Crimp A Ferrule?
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German_EE:
No, this isn't a trick question. For years I have been crimping ferrules using a hand held tool that squashes them flat without using a ratchet and I've never seen a failure. Tonight I sat in a workshop whilst someone used a ratchet-based tool that gave a hexagon shaped crimp similar to what you get at the cable end of a BNC plug only smaller.

He claimed that the hexagon crimp produced less stress on the strands but I thought the whole idea of crimping WAS stress, clamping down hard enough for a gas-tight connection?

Thoughts?
Brutte:
I do not think the ferrules are air-tight to the extent the crimped connectors are. The ferrules are more used to organize the strands in more managable way. Then you squeeze the ferrule in a terminator anyway.

My tool crimps on four sides. It has a ratchet mechanism.
No problem with that, except when I ordered tinned copper ferrules from eBay that had no copper. Or at least not much.
reboots:
I use this 4-sided ratcheting crimper:

https://www.wagoproducts.com/tools/series-206/wago-206-204/

There are cheaper 4- and 6-sided crimpers on eBay.

I suspect a flat crimp would place the wire strands in the middle under excessive stress, and the strands on the edges under insufficient stress. I believe the ideal ferrule geometry will gather the strands firmly together in their manufactured "lay".
floobydust:
I worked for a utility company that exclusively used 4 (square) ferrule crimps for all wiring.
I bought a Weidmuller hex crimper and they flipped out and demanded I not use it. Phoenix Contact's tool was also double the price.

Apparently the square 4 crimp has a bigger flat portion, so screw terminals/ sliding cage clamps on DIN-rail stuff contacts it better. The hex is rounded more and not as good.

There are aluminium or tin-plated copper ferrules, of varying thickness and quality, to watch out for.
tautech:

--- Quote from: German_EE on November 01, 2019, 08:36:33 pm ---No, this isn't a trick question. For years I have been crimping ferrules using a hand held tool that squashes them flat without using a ratchet and I've never seen a failure. Tonight I sat in a workshop whilst someone used a ratchet-based tool that gave a hexagon shaped crimp similar to what you get at the cable end of a BNC plug only smaller.

He claimed that the hexagon crimp produced less stress on the strands but I thought the whole idea of crimping WAS stress, clamping down hard enough for a gas-tight connection?

Thoughts?

--- End quote ---
A crimp is essentially a cold pressure weld, get it wrong and the cable can be compromised.
Single point crimps can over-stress the conducting strands however if the crimping system is properly matched problems are rare.
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