Understanding and Making Crimp Connections That Last

ƒ What are the Basic Process Methods Used to

Connect (Terminate) a Wire to Make an
Electrical Connection?
ƒ SOLDER
ƒ SOLDERLESS
ƒ WELDED (Ultrasonic Welding)
ƒ CONDUCTIVE ADHESIVE
ƒ Everyday You Use Products and Equipment
that Have Electrical Connections Using Some
Form of Solderless Connections
ƒ What are the Common Solderless Methods?
ƒ Crimp
ƒ IDC
ƒ Insulation Displacement Connection
▪ Mass Termination
▪ Discrete Wire
ƒ Compression
ƒ Wire Clamping
ƒ Interference Fit or Force Fit
ƒ Wire Wrap
ƒ Mass Termination
ƒ Flat Cables or Ribbon Cables
ƒ Discrete Wire Termination
ƒ Punch Down Blocks
ƒ Modular Wall Plate Jacks for Phone & Data
ƒ Nylon Molex Style Connectors
▪ MAS-CON Connectors
▪ MTA Connectors
ƒ Industrial Products
ƒ Consumer Appliances
ƒ Consumer Electronics
ƒ Industrial Control Systems
ƒ Wiring to Industrial Oil Tight Lights and
Switches
ƒ Consumer Large Appliances
ƒ Computer Backplanes
ƒ Digital Logic Control Systems Backplanes
ƒ Backplanes on Card Cages
ƒ Cables of All Kinds
ƒ Wire Harnesses
ƒ Aircraft Wiring
ƒ Automotive Wiring
ƒ Trains
ƒ Busses
ƒ Consumer Products
ƒ Contacts
ƒ Stamp & Form Contacts
ƒ Machined Contacts

ƒ Terminals
ƒ Ring Lugs, Fork Lugs, Splices, Etc
ƒ Phone Systems Equipment
ƒ Cross Connect Panels
ƒ Was heavily used for several decades on both
prototype and production digital logic based
products.
ƒ System Backplanes
ƒ Consumer Electronics
ƒ Good Electrical Connection
ƒ Low Resistance
ƒ Will Not Cause Shorts
ƒ Good Mechanical Connection
ƒ Wires Will Not Pull Out Easily
ƒ No Broken Conductor Strands
ƒ No Mechanical Damage so That Terminals or Contacts
Can Properly Mate With Other Devices
ƒ Long Lasting
ƒ Should Last for Decades
ƒ What are the Two Primary Failure Modes of
Solderless Connections???
ƒ High Resistance Connection
▪ Excess Voltage Drop across connection point
▪ Heat Buildup Due to Voltage Drop & High Current Flow

ƒ Mechanical Failure of the Solderless

Connection Point or the Conductor (Wire)
ƒ What Causes Increased Resistance of a
Solderless Connection Over Time???

ƒ Corrosion (Oxidation) at the Interface Point

Between the Conductor and What it is Connected
Too (Wire Wrap Post, Contact)
ƒ All Solderless Connection Methods Must
Achieve One Critical Thing to Assure a Long
Lasting Low Resistance Electrical
Connection.

ƒ What is This Critical Thing????

ƒ GAS TIGHT FIT Without Mechanical Damage
Learning About
 ELECTRICAL
PERFORMANCE
DECREASING
CROSS-
SECTIONAL
AREA

CROSS-SECTIONAL
INCREASING
AREA
MECHANICAL
STRENGTH &
ELECTRICAL
PERFORMANCE

MECHANICAL
CRIMP
STRENGTH
DESIGN
RANGE

INCREASING CRIMPING FORCE

DECREASING CRIMP HEIGHT
ƒ Contact to Meet the Needed use and Wire
Gauge.

ƒ Correctly Stripped Wire to fit the Contact.

ƒ Correct Tooling for the contact used.

ƒ Trained Assembly Personnel.

ƒ Crimped Connections are Designed for
Stranded Conductors not Solid.

ƒ Solid Conductors Should be Soldered After

Crimping.

ƒWHY?
ƒ AWG ( American Wire Gauge )

ƒ What Does Gauge Mean ???

ƒ Do all Wires of the Same Gauge Have the
Same Diameter ???

ƒ Wire Gauge is the Cross Sectional Area of

the Conductor Which is Expressed by the
Equivalent Circular Mil Area (CMA)
ƒ Why is a 12AWG Wire Larger Than a
24AWG??
ƒ What Does the Following Mean if You Saw it
on a Parts List or a Wire Spool Label???
ƒ 22AWG 7/30

ƒ 22 Gauge Conductor
ƒ Stranded Conductor Made up of
ƒ 7 Solid Strands of 30 Gauge Each
ƒ Yellow 4 AWG
ƒ Blue 6 AWG
ƒ Red 8 AWG
ƒ Yellow 10 to 12 AWG
ƒ Blue 14 to 16 AWG
ƒ Red 18 to 22 AWG
ƒ Yellow 24 to 26 AWG
ƒ What if You Have More Than One Conductor
That Needs to be Crimped Into a Single
Contact or Terminal

ƒ How do You Know What the Equivalent Wire

Gauge is?
ƒ Compute the Total CMA
ƒ Use the Rule of Threes
ƒ Add up the CMA of Each Conductor for the
Total CMA of the Combined Conductors.

ƒ Take this Total CMA Number to a Wire Chart

to Find the Best Wire Gauge Match.

ƒ Compare This Equivalent Wire Gauge to the

Contact or Terminal Specifications to See if it
Falls Within the Gauge Range.
ƒ Used for 2 Wires Into a Single Contact or
Terminal

ƒ The Two Conductors Must be the Same Wire

Gauge

ƒ This Rule Will Give You the Resulting

Combined Equivalent Wire Gauge
 Method Stranded Solid Remarks
Crimp Yes No Solder Solid
IDC Yes Yes Strand Count
Wire Wrap No Yes Solder
Stranded
Compression Yes Yes
Wire Yes Yes
Clamping
ƒ The Conductor Strip Length is a Critical
Element to Achieving a Good Crimp

ƒ It is Second only to Tooling and Gauge Match

in Critical Factors
ƒ Pliers Type
ƒ Very Hard to Get Repeatable Crimp Results
Especially with Different Operators.
ƒ Hand Strength of User Effects Crimp Quality
ƒ Can Not Predict Longevity of the Crimp
ƒ Best for Emergency Repairs or When the User Can
Tolerate Short Crimp Life and Expense and
Downtime of Potential Multiple Repairs Due To
Failing Crimps
ƒ Ratchet Type Hand Crimp Tools
ƒ Repeatable Crimp Results Especially with
Different Operators.
ƒ The Crimp Quality is not Effected by the Hand
Strength of the Operator.
ƒ Predictable Long Lasting Crimp Life.
ƒ Milivolt Drop Test

ƒ Used to Measure the Voltage Drop Across the

Conductor Crimp Area of a Contact or
Terminal
ƒ Used Mainly as a Validation of the Actual
Contact or Terminal Design
ƒ Normally Not Used in Production
Environments
ƒ Crimp Height Measurement is one of the
Most Commonly used Methods in Validating
a Crimp
ƒ Machine Setup
ƒ Hand Tool Verification
ƒ Checking Crimp Quality
ƒ Uses a Special Crimp Height Micrometer to
Measure the Actual height of the Crimp
ƒ Pull Testing is Used to Measure the Actual
Pull Out or Conductor Breaking Force.

ƒ Only the Conductor Crimp Area is Actually

Crimped, Not the Insulation Crimp.

ƒ This is Typically a Destructive Test.

ƒ Visual Inspection of Key Attributes

ƒ Key Attributes Vary by Type of Part

ƒ Terminals
ƒ Stamp & Form Contacts
ƒ Machined Contacts
ƒ Conductor Brush

ƒ Conductor Crimp

ƒ Insulation Crimp
ƒ Insulation Crimp
ƒ Inspection Window
ƒ Conductor Crimp
ƒ Bell Mouth
ƒ Crimp Area
ƒ Conductor Brush
ƒ Locking Tabs
ƒ Cutoff Tab
ƒ Insulation Clearance

ƒ Inspection Hole

ƒ Crimp Indent

ƒ Indent Location
ƒ Use Unstripped Insulated Wire
ƒ Only Crimp the Wire in the Insulation Support
Crimp Area of the Contact
ƒTHANK
ƒYOU