DuPont and “DuPont” connectors, and how to crimp them properly
mattmillman.com
mattmillman.com
I agree that "do it how it's supposed to be done" is a good advice in any situation though.
There are two situations where it will matter:
First is high dollar, highly engineered things. In these cases it's a non issue because you should be figuring out what will work and then doing it. That's kind of the point of expending the engineering effort.
Second is some ghetto "made with what I had" abomination where an Arduino is dangling by its wires from whatever vibrating machinery it is acting as a controller for because the nature of the situation made the wasted expense of even a single zip tie inappropriate. In those cases failure doesn't really matter. If it breaks you just fix it and move on.
The expansive middle ground where you care but don't care enough to waste a bunch of effort figuring out how to build it to within an inch of it's life the solution is going to be to secure the component and strain relieve the wiring near the joint well enough that it doesn't really matter how you connect things because the connection sees basically no force.
That said, crimping is the superior method of fastening in 99.9% of situations.
It’s different now. HN is the only place I know how to stumble on this type of thing now.
Edit: hah yep they get an honorable mention. Definitely get the PA-20 or 21s, not the 09. They’re not perfect but they don’t cost an arm and a leg.
If you ARE working with short-barrel stuff like most JST types, the Iwiss 2820M is so much better than the Engineer it's not even funny. I hate to say it because they're the knockoff, but they've perfected it.
These two tools do 99% of my open-barrel crimping anymore.
I've had a chance to use some well-maintained, calibrated crimp tools and there's a satisfaction that I can't quite describe. They feel substantial in the hand, the operation/sound are smooth and calming, and the resulting crimp will never fail. In my student days I had to improvise with whatever pliers or grippers were available. It was excruciating and the end product was barely serviceable.
Is this suitable for a single person at home, to hold a PCB in place whilst you solder components to it? Worth getting it for home use?
You mentioned Lindstrom and Piergiacomi for flush cutters - I know Ideal-Tek makes flush cutters as well (in fact I think I have some somewhere...), and so does Knipex. But in your experience, are the Lindstrom and Piergiacomi vastly superior?
Lindstrom and Piergiacomi are much better cutters... when I can find them in my messy lab.
It seems to me that these tools should be designed as tabletop or bench-mounted devices, so you can push the wire+contact in from the front with both hands, crimp, then pull out.
I must be missing something, because all the tools are this form factor, and I don't see much discussion of the actual "how to crimp properly", i.e. the physical actions. What am I doing wrong?
One thing this article doesn't seem to mention is pin release tools, which are invaluable if you need to repin or repair a connector. Most open barrel terminals have a small metal tang that retains them in their connector housing. A jeweller's screwdriver can work in a pinch, but can mangle either the pin or the housing. I've been using Hero's FR-150 set, but there's no shortage of suitable options out there for whatever connectors you might be working with.
I settled on the Hozan P-707 recommended in this article. A bit more expensive than other options, but it has worked really well for me. Every crimp is just right. Worth the extra money for me.
EDIT: Oh cool, I just need to spend ~300 dollars on a special crimping tool (HT-95) :\
I bought a few different ones, including some that seem more automated, but I ended up liking a simple Hozan P-707 ($44) in the end. I get better crimps from it than anything else I've bought. It takes a bit of practice to get good at it, but not too long.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/affordable-crimp-tools...