Affordable crimp tools for small connectors (Dupont, etc.)

[Okto47]

Not inserted horizontal or does the plier twist  it ?
Without that twist it wouldn’t look bad (of course the isolation crimp is no O)

I always readjust after closing halfway / before wire goes in , but at some even that won’t help .

[shabaz]

Looks like the side tabs are causing it to twist. I dont have a complete answer, but as a workaround, I only use sockets (not pins), I.e. type 2226TG are excellent and cheap and have no tabs sticking out. When pins are needed, I'll often stick a pin from a pin header inside the socket. Not ideal, but means I only keep a bag of the 2226TG sockets around. I keep plenty of pin headers and can pull a pin out of if required. Hope that helps!

[maralb]

I don't think it is much twisted. It looks like it due to the angle of photography.

Another picture of the same crimp.

[Okto47]

Yeah , at first picture I thought it were twisted and off-centre , but was just  viewing angle / resolution / open barrel .

Thought it’s not only against loose strands or to use whole cable cross section  , thought it’s better  if the legs are closed by profile design , so that they can support each other - become more stable - can’t give back as locked into each other - stay gas tight after crimp.

But not easy without original jaws, I know.
Thought the AMP you ordered will fit better at that point.
Had a look at it too , but found at moment only offers with high shipping costs & tax to EU and already have that much jaws.

[maralb]

I received my AMP 90202-2 crimp tool from EBay today.

This is the very first Dupont crimp I made with it. Although I inserted the wire slightly too far the crimping quality is not bad at all. I would like to say it is great. The AMP crimp tool is rather big and heavy which makes  the handling a bit clumsey.

The tabs grabbing the wire insulation are how you want them too see. Happy with it and thank you shabaz for the tip regarding the AMP90202 tool. It is a good option for Dupont terminals.

[shabaz]

Thanks for the photo, great to see the result! You're right, it's a large tool, I find it easier to hold by one handle, and just push the other end against chest, so that one hand is free to support the wire.

The insulation is usually separated by a thin metal barrier (i.e. when using the tool, without the wire, click it once or twice to just get the crimp held, and then insert the wire, because a metal barrier (with a narrow slot) will have dropped into position after the first click.

Then, the insulation can't get into the conductor-crimping portion of the tool, because the slot only allows the stripped portion to pass through.

[CaptainBucko]

An update for those in a similar situation.

I purchased quite a lot of Molex KK254 / 2510 Style connectors https://www.taydaelectronics.com/housing-connector-2-54mm-9-pins.html and pins https://www.taydaelectronics.com/crimp-terminal-connector-2-54mm.html and also the recommended tool https://www.taydaelectronics.com/sn-28b-crimping-tool-plier-0-25-1-mm-for-awg-28-18.html

After much frustration I determined the SN-28B crimper tool was garbage for this style of crimp. I purchased both an IWISS SN-58B and an IWISS SN-2549 after much research. The 58B is slightly wider than the 2549.

From my experiments, the 58B in the 1.6mm/2.0mm slot crimps perfectly. I purchased this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001174734683.html

[pope]

An update for those in a similar situation.

I purchased quite a lot of Molex KK254 / 2510 Style connectors https://www.taydaelectronics.com/housing-connector-2-54mm-9-pins.html and pins https://www.taydaelectronics.com/crimp-terminal-connector-2-54mm.html and also the recommended tool https://www.taydaelectronics.com/sn-28b-crimping-tool-plier-0-25-1-mm-for-awg-28-18.html

After much frustration I determined the SN-28B crimper tool was garbage for this style of crimp. I purchased both an IWISS SN-58B and an IWISS SN-2549 after much research. The 58B is slight wider than the 2549.

From my experiments, the 58B in the 1.6mm/2.0mm slot crimps perfectly. I purchased this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001174734683.html

thanks for the update

[tooki]

An update for those in a similar situation.

I purchased quite a lot of Molex KK254 / 2510 Style connectors https://www.taydaelectronics.com/housing-connector-2-54mm-9-pins.html and pins https://www.taydaelectronics.com/crimp-terminal-connector-2-54mm.html and also the recommended tool https://www.taydaelectronics.com/sn-28b-crimping-tool-plier-0-25-1-mm-for-awg-28-18.html

After much frustration I determined the SN-28B crimper tool was garbage for this style of crimp. I purchased both an IWISS SN-58B and an IWISS SN-2549 after much research. The 58B is slightly wider than the 2549.

From my experiments, the 58B in the 1.6mm/2.0mm slot crimps perfectly. I purchased this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001174734683.html

Well, though it’s not optimal, an SN-28B should work for KK254. It just tends to indent the insulation a bit. There are definitely superior tools out there.

Honestly it baffles me that all these vendors push the SN-28B as the default crimp tool for small connectors, when it very plainly is not made for them*. It’s the first one I got, too, years ago.

What is odd is that you had better luck with an SN-58B, because that tool is just an SN-28B combined with an SN-48B (a tool for larger terminals). The smallest slot in the 28B and 58B should be identical, the 1.56/1.96mm. It’s conceivable that the observed difference is not due to slot sizes, but quality differences or tolerances.

*Years ago I came across some old tooling catalog from a major connector brand, and it listed -28B as being for 2.8mm Faston and -48B being for 4.8mm Faston terminals. (Presumably that’s what the Chinese vendors copied.) So that gives an idea of how much bigger the terminals are for which those tools are intended.

[tooki]

For the first time, Lidl in Switzerland had the crimp tool, so I picked one up.

Crimp quality and dies:
I would say it’s definitely better than the Toozo: a DuPont crimped with the Lidl tool truly passes a pull test, which the Toozo doesn’t always. It also did a great job on the included XH contacts. I tested using 24AWG fine-stranded wire. (Unfortunately all of my KK254 material is at work, so I couldn’t test it out now.)

The dies look as good as in the photos someone posted a year ago. Unlike the wire EDM jaws of the Toozo (and of the SN-28B and IWS-3220 I have), the inner surfaces are smooth. Not the high mirror shine of expensive tools, but still quite smooth. This means less effort when crimping, and better results, because the contact wings don’t have to slide along the rough surface the wire EDM process leaves behind.

Like all of the cheap tools seen to date, the crimp profiles are a bit flatter than in the original tools. I don’t know why the manufacturers of cheap tools do that. Just make the crimp narrower but taller. However, the Lidl tool does make crimps that are juuuust narrow enough to go into the housings. But there is absolutely no room to spare; the wire I tested with has very soft, slightly thick insulation, and after crimping on a contact, the squeezed insulation flares out a bit where the strip begins, and that flare was enough to frustrate insertion into the DuPont housing. It was easily trimmed off, though. It’s likely that thinner, less squishy insulation would cause no interference whatsoever.

What would also be helpful is if there were a broader “funnel” at the bottom of the upper dies, so that the insulation wings are better guided into the opening, like in the original Berg/DuPont tooling I showed in a reply above: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/affordable-crimp-tools-for-small-connectors-(dupont-etc-)/msg5338232/#msg5338232    (This applies to probably every inexpensive tool discussed in this thread.) I may see if one of the machinists at work can modify mine (or help me do it).

Verdict:
While it will never compete with a “real” tool costing 20-30x as much, it is probably the best cheap crimper I’ve tried for DuPont pins, and IMHO probably the one we should recommend for hobbyists.

This would be a killer $20 tool if it had a contact locator. That would eliminate probably 90% of user error and frustration. (I am still amazed that no low-cost crimp tool manufacturer has thought to differentiate themselves by offering a DuPont tool with locator.)

Given Lidl’s ubiquity, it might make sense for someone skilled in 3D modeling (i.e. absolutely not me, LOL) to design a locator people can add on.

[CaptainBucko]

What is odd is that you had better luck with an SN-58B, because that tool is just an SN-28B combined with an SN-48B (a tool for larger terminals). The smallest slot in the 28B and 58B should be identical, the 1.56/1.96mm. It’s conceivable that the observed difference is not due to slot sizes, but quality differences or tolerances.

On the smallest slot, I measure 1.43mm/1.87mm on the SN-28B and 1.42mm/1.96mm on the SN-58B.

Two notable differences are the depth of the slot being much greater on the 58B, and the polished tool steel finish.

[pope]

For the first time, Lidl in Switzerland had the crimp tool, so I picked one up.

Crimp quality and dies:
I would say it’s definitely better than the Toozo: a DuPont crimped with the Lidl tool truly passes a pull test, which the Toozo doesn’t always. It also did a great job on the included XH contacts. I tested using 24AWG fine-stranded wire. (Unfortunately all of my KK254 material is at work, so I couldn’t test it out now.)

The dies look as good as in the photos someone posted a year ago. Unlike the wire EDM jaws of the Toozo (and of the SN-28B and IWS-3220 I have), the inner surfaces are smooth. Not the high mirror shine of expensive tools, but still quite smooth. This means less effort when crimping, and better results, because the contact wings don’t have to slide along the rough surface the wire EDM process leaves behind.

Like all of the cheap tools seen to date, the crimp profiles are a bit flatter than in the original tools. I don’t know why the manufacturers of cheap tools do that. Just make the crimp narrower but taller. However, the Lidl tool does make crimps that are juuuust narrow enough to go into the housings. But there is absolutely no room to spare; the wire I tested with has very soft, slightly thick insulation, and after crimping on a contact, the squeezed insulation flares out a bit where the strip begins, and that flare was enough to frustrate insertion into the DuPont housing. It was easily trimmed off, though. It’s likely that thinner, less squishy insulation would cause no interference whatsoever.

What would also be helpful is if there were a broader “funnel” at the bottom of the upper dies, so that the insulation wings are better guided into the opening, like in the original Berg/DuPont tooling I showed in a reply above: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/affordable-crimp-tools-for-small-connectors-(dupont-etc-)/msg5338232/#msg5338232    (This applies to probably every inexpensive tool discussed in this thread.) I may see if one of the machinists at work can modify mine (or help me do it).

Verdict:
While it will never compete with a “real” tool costing 20-30x as much, it is probably the best cheap crimper I’ve tried for DuPont pins, and IMHO probably the one we should recommend for hobbyists.

This would be a killer $20 tool if it had a contact locator. That would eliminate probably 90% of user error and frustration. (I am still amazed that no low-cost crimp tool manufacturer has thought to differentiate themselves by offering a DuPont tool with locator.)

Given Lidl’s ubiquity, it might make sense for someone skilled in 3D modeling (i.e. absolutely not me, LOL) to design a locator people can add on.

Could you post a photo of the lidl crimp tool? Is it any of these?

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-szczypce-zaciskowe-do-kabli-2012-elementow/p100367458

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-szczypce-zaciskowe-do-kabli/p100381436

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-zestaw-zaciskarek-5-w-1-pczs-181-a1-181-elementow/p100375545

Also, since you seem to have a fetish good knowledge with crimp tools  do you know if any knipex die would do KK254?

[tooki]

What is odd is that you had better luck with an SN-58B, because that tool is just an SN-28B combined with an SN-48B (a tool for larger terminals). The smallest slot in the 28B and 58B should be identical, the 1.56/1.96mm. It’s conceivable that the observed difference is not due to slot sizes, but quality differences or tolerances.

On the smallest slot, I measure 1.43mm/1.87mm on the SN-28B and 1.42mm/1.96mm on the SN-58B.

Two notable differences are the depth of the slot being much greater on the 58B, and the polished tool steel finish.

Thanks for taking the time to measure and photograph. This illustrates perfectly another issue with cheap tools: inconsistency between manufacturers (in addition to piece-to-piece inconsistency within a manufacturer).

The SN-28B I have (which has no manufacturer on it at all) happens to be one with wire EDM dies. I’ll try remember to take them to work to measure with my digital calipers there.

[tooki]

Could you post a photo of the lidl crimp tool? Is it any of these?

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-szczypce-zaciskowe-do-kabli-2012-elementow/p100367458

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-szczypce-zaciskowe-do-kabli/p100381436

https://www.lidl.pl/p/parkside-zestaw-zaciskarek-5-w-1-pczs-181-a1-181-elementow/p100375545

It’s the second one; I won’t bother taking pictures because someone else posted some great pictures earlier in this thread.

Also, since you seem to have a fetish good knowledge with crimp tools  do you know if any knipex die would do KK254?

Given the insane amounts of free time I’ve spent (and enjoyed!) researching connectors, “fetish” probably is not far off the mark!

Anyway, I took my KK254 (well, KF2510-style KK clones, technically) stuff home and tried them with the Lidl crimpers and they did a great job at first glance. I still need to do a proper (no-insulation) pull test but the results look very promising. The KK254-style contacts are a very good dimensional match to the Lidl tool’s dies.

Before I took them home, I tried them in the only potentially compatible Knipex die I have, #24, which is for D-sub pins. It does work, but it’s not optimal. The jaws are a little bit too thin, so it’s quite difficult to align the contact in the die such that the whole conductor wings get crimped, but also in deep enough that the insulation crimp doesn’t get deformed. Chances are Knipex has another die that is a better match.


Also, the positions of the ratchet “clicks” on the Lidl tool are a better match than the Knipex to the KK254-style contacts to hold them in place while inserting the wire.


If necessary, I can do some tests with genuine KK254 contacts.

[cozycactus]

what crimper do you recommend for KK396 terminals?

[Veketti]

I'm not sure will you see Hozan P-707 as an affordable but it certainly is cheaper than official crimpers and it blows any Iwiss or that sorts out of the table. Ordered my Hozan from ebay, directly from Japan. With it I haven't had single bad crimp, it just delivers perfect crimp each and every time. Only negative comment is that it has force multiplication mechanism so only very light pressure is needed for the crimp. Otherwise you'll overcrimp. Other thing is that you need to crimp twice. First the wire and second the insulation.
I have few Iwiss and some other non official crimpers to compare and never use them anymore.

[tooki]

what crimper do you recommend for KK396 terminals?

I do not have a recommendation insofar as I have never used KK396 myself.

Have you reviewed this entire thread? There is substantial discussion about KK396 and the challenges the series poses due to a large variety of contact models and wire sizes, and poor documentation in many cases. One of the big challenges is that most KK396 contacts have the diagonal offset style of insulation wings, and thus require a circular (not m-shape) insulation crimp. (Only certain models of the large-wire-only 22-18AWG terminals have the “straight” insulation wings.)

There is also discussion earlier in the thread of some cheap tools with several circular insulation crimps. One of those might work for KK396, but I can’t make any guarantees.

[tooki]

I'm not sure will you see Hozan P-707 as an affordable but it certainly is cheaper than official crimpers and it blows any Iwiss or that sorts out of the table. Ordered my Hozan from ebay, directly from Japan. With it I haven't had single bad crimp, it just delivers perfect crimp each and every time. Only negative comment is that it has force multiplication mechanism so only very light pressure is needed for the crimp. Otherwise you'll overcrimp. Other thing is that you need to crimp twice. First the wire and second the insulation.
I have few Iwiss and some other non official crimpers to compare and never use them anymore.

Well, as I’ve stated a few times in this thread, I’m not a fan of non-ratcheting tools, precisely because of the undefined crimp force. So while the Hozan may have great dies, the results will still be variable due to user variability. And of course because of the need to do two crimps per contact. (And each one with the potential of applying too little or too much force.)

[Veketti]

But with non-ratcheting crimper you can adapt to different wire gauges, which ratcheting you can't. It might be good for one gauge and others not so much...

[tooki]

But with non-ratcheting crimper you can adapt to different wire gauges, which ratcheting you can't. It might be good for one gauge and others not so much...

Nah, there are good reasons no serious crimp tool works like that.

Crimping is a precision process requiring close matching of the contact, wire, and tool. In small contacts like this thread is about, the tolerances involved are in the hundredths of a millimeter. You cannot achieve that by guesstimating with your grip force!

Besides, with most contacts, compatibility with a given wire size affects both height and width of the crimps, so you need different “nests” in the tool anyway. (High-end crimp tooling, mostly the automatic stuff, does offer some adjustability, to allow for tool wear. But not to go to entirely different wire sizes.)

So is a non-ratcheting tool more flexible? Sure. Is that flexibility a good thing? Ehhhh…

Remember that the goal of this thread is to find inexpensive tooling that makes crimping these small contacts easy, reliable, and repeatable. Non-ratcheting tools do not meet any of those goals.

[JimKnopf]

I know the Engineer PA-09 was already mentioned here.

Last year i bought the Engineer PA-24. Every single crimp trial is a success. Very precise tool.

[tooki]

Slightly off topic, but perhaps welcome info.

Just a recent happy discovery: the AMPMODU MOD IV crimper I have (the one I describe earlier in this thread as having proven to be a flexible, reliable workhorse) works beautifully for the contacts for the Amphenol C091 series* of DIN connectors. 28AWG to 22AWG work perfectly; the 20AWG works with thin insulation, but looks like it might be slightly overcrimped.

This is especially handy because DIN connectors with gold-plated pins tend to be hard to get (they readily exist, but are rarely stocked), while it’s easy to get the C091 series housings and gold crimp contacts, even from distributors that don’t stock the gold versions of the solder terminated connectors.


*including the more recent M16 Quicklock variants, which are not (yet?) included in the main C091 catalog, despite sharing most components.

[armandine2]

I came across that recently, too. (I've been meaning to add more discoveries to this thread, just haven't gotten around to it.)

It looks promising, but… must not order yet another crimp tool! must not order yet another crimp tool! must not order yet another crimp tool!* 🤣 I'm certainly willing to accept donations and then post the results! For science, ya know? 

I am considering it, though, since the largest die opening would work for much larger offset-insulation-crimp connectors like the Molex KK 3.96mm pitch. But even on connectors that work with m-style insulation crimps, I've been finding that doing a circular insulation crimp on them often works better. (I've been using the AMPMODU Mod IV crimper to do Molex KK 2.54mm clones (KF2510, Reichelt PSK, etc) with great success.)


*I'll probably end up ordering yet another crimp tool...

...I am looking into getting a KK 396 crimp tool, the KK 254 stuff I have works well but I'd like to work with the next size up.

Both these systems though appear to be wire-to-board only, is that correct?

[tooki]

That is correct, as far as I know. If you’re going to invest in a different connector family, why not choose one that has all the options?

What I’ve been using more and more is Molex Micro-Fit*, a 3mm pitch family. It has wire-to-board, wire-to-wire, and board-to-board connectors. And if you get the original Molex crimp tool (I got one off a local auction site, new in sealed box, for around $120), it’s perhaps the most pleasant crimp tool to use that I’ve used so far (excepting the military-style circular indent crimpers). It needs remarkably little hand force to operate.

*Amphenol Minitek Pwr 3.0 is compatible and seemingly identical, even using identical contacts. TE Micro Mate-n-Lok looks intermateable, but the contacts have different crimp barrels and retention.


If you want something the size of KK396, look at JST VH. It is technically wire-to-board only, but they do make 2-pin couplers for it. VH terminals don't use the slanted insulation crimp barrel that makes most KK396 much more difficult to crimp with generic tools. VH works quite well in generic crimp tools. Also, the contacts are the metal box style, so don't rely on the plastic housing for contact, like standard KK does.