Where to crimp molex connectors?

[Daniel Friesen]

Are there any spaces that have / organization that lend the crimpers that crimp the typical molex connectors used by the RepRap community.

I've got a RepRapElectric RAMBo and after I get wires and wire lengths sorted out, I'm going to need to start crimping the molex connectors on the wires.

However from what I see the tool you use to crimp these area around $30 and for a printer you pretty much use the tool once and then you generally don't need it again for anything.

[Nick Wimpney]

are you talking about molex or dupont connectors?
I don't know where you could borrow a crimper either way,  but I  don't think I have seen molex used much.

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[Daniel Friesen]

I'm not sure. I don't know the terms much. And molex has become a generic term that gets thrown out at everything.

I attached a photo of the connectors that came with my RAMBo.

[Geoff Nicol]

You can crimp those quite successfully with a pair of needle nose pliers.

There are 4 tabs; two that crimp the insulation at the end and two that crimp the conductor in a bit.

You just need to fold in each tab one at a time. Its a touch tricky the first couple attempts but it actually goes rather quickly once you've done a couple.

I tend to follow up with a dab of solder on the crimped conductor after mechanically securing it.

If you're doing a thousand of them; by all means get the proper crimper though :)

-Geoff

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[Rob Hall]

I have used pliers  many times
And the solder is a great help use a tiny bit of flux to make connection quick and prevent it flowing where you dont want

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[theglasairpilot]

These are NOT molex connectors and using pliers than soldering them are the worse thing you can do.This creates a week point that will break for sure.I have been doing this for 30 years +.The tool you speak of is junk , throw it away. The proper tool cost around a $100.00 bucks or so. I hear this sort of nonsense all the time about pliers and than soldering and it drives me nuts. No offense intended to anyone, but if it's not right..............there is only one other answer. You are more than welcome to come to my shop and use the PROPER tool. Sorry, because it is an expensive tool, and I use it all the time, I am not willing to loan it out. Again, I would like to make it perfectly clear, no offence to the miss informed.

[Nick Wimpney]

I think you're being a little over dramatic.  I have used pliers and solder lots of times without problems.   It is awful,  because it is so slow and tedious to do a decent job, but for someone who's only going to do a few connectors,  the "proper" tool is way too expensive.

That said,  the crimp on the insulation will be pretty ineffective using the plier method,  so the solder joint will be handling any strain on the wires. Also, I recommend using a tiny bit of flux  as far up from the plug as possible,  and tack the solder there.  You want to avoid flux and solder from wicking into the contact, where it can mess things up.

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[Rob Hall]

Good to see that trolls are every where
We are talking about a hobby still right

If i used it everyday for even one connection a $100
Tool is nothng i strongly believe that the right tool makes any job better and hopefully easier

But for my 15 to 20 connections on my printer that i have not needed to redo in several years the tool just was not convenitly available nor was it cost effective 

I would love to see a pic of the tool end as I may have found a reasonable source to crimping dies but its online and choosing from a pic
Means that I would likely have to order a few to get the corect ones
and if i can get the dies for my ratcthing crimper at a reasonable price i would be happy to loan it out from time to time as rarely use it anymore

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[theglasairpilot]

As I stated a couple of times, don't take it personally. Yes, pliers hammers, blow torches will probably get the job done. My interpretation was, he wanted to do them the right way. IN MY OPINION, there is only one way, that is using the right tool for the right job. As I said before, he is more than welcome to come over and use them any time. NUFF SAID .....................Look at your own words.  . 

[Ian Smith]

Just curious,and I'm jumping in at wrong end of the conversation. If it's not a molded you are talking about, what type of a connector is it? I haven't read the whole thread, so I guess I'll go back to see if there are any photos. Also could you post a photo of the "correct" tool? I might have one as well but would like to confirm before offering to lend it out.

[Ian Smith]

Autocorrect. Not molded. Molex

On May 20, 2015 2:11:15 PM PDT, Ian Smith <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just curious,and I'm jumping in at wrong end of the conversation. If it's not a molded you are talking about, what type of a connector is it? I haven't read the whole thread, so I guess I'll go back to see if there are any photos. Also could you post a photo of the "correct" tool? I might have one as well but would like to confirm before offering to lend it out. 

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[Ian Smith]

I was on the phone before.  Now on desktop.  Those look like the standard crimp connectors for most of the connectors at Lee's electronics.  They sell the crimp tool for about $25.00.  May be the chinese knock off tool, but it works for occasional use. 

[Nick Wimpney]

Molex is a brand name, but it usually refers to the fat pin+socket connectors like were used on old computer hard drives, etc.  (usually white plastic, big pins)  In reality those ones aren't Molex's own design, but they're very similar.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Amp_and_Molex_Connectors.jpg

People generally refer to the "AMP" connector in that pic as a molex.

Dupont connectors are the typical 2.54 pitch black ones usually used for board to wire connections.
http://img.diytrade.com/smimg/87939/4084784-837591-0/A2541_DUPONT_DB250_/efc0.jpg

On Wed, May 20, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Ian Smith <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just curious,and I'm jumping in at wrong end of the conversation. If it's not a molded you are talking about, what type of a connector is it? I haven't read the whole thread, so I guess I'll go back to see if there are any photos. Also could you post a photo of the "correct" tool? I might have one as well but would like to confirm before offering to lend it out.

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[Nick Wimpney]

Thanks for the tip Ian.  I've been meaning to pick up a cheap set of crimpers from hobbyking (They use something very similar for servo wires), but they've been out of stock the last couple times I've ordered from them.  I'll have to swing by Lee's and see what they've got that will work.  I am building another printer and just about to the point where I'll need the connectors.  I got lazy and soldered everything direct to my board the last time, but it's not the greatest way to do things when I'm still screwing around, and changing things occasionally. ;)

On Wed, May 20, 2015 at 2:16 PM, Ian Smith <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I was on the phone before.  Now on desktop.  Those look like the standard crimp connectors for most of the connectors at Lee's electronics.  They sell the crimp tool for about $25.00.  May be the chinese knock off tool, but it works for occasional use. 

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[Ian Smith]

I'll probably be in there on Thursday. I'll confirm the name and price of the tool. Took a quick look at their website, but the photos aren't getting through the firewall at the office.

[Ian Smith]

Lee's has opened a 2nd location at 4131 Fraser (At 25th (West King Edward)).

The original store will probably close in about a year.  

[John Biehler]

The new store is huge and just about everything is on display. 

On May 20, 2015, at 5:43 PM, Ian Smith <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Lee's has opened a 2nd location at 4131 Fraser (At 25th (West King Edward)).

The original store will probably close in about a year.  

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[Rob Hall]

The connectors on your servos should be the same dupont STYLE conectors we commonly see in the 3dprinters  and on mother boards and so on

[Ian Smith]

OK, here's the crimper that I use.  I picked it up from Lee's and I  confirmed today that they still have the same one at $26.00. 

I use it on these connectors. Again from Lee's.

 This is how I put them in the tool (shown without wire). 

This is how I put the wire into the connector before it goes into the tool. I usually squeeze the first pair or prongs with my finger so that it has less chance of falling off or moving. 

This is the result after crimping.

OK, feel free to tell me if I'm doing it wrong, or if there is a better way. 

[Nick Wimpney]

That does look like a molex style pin, not the dupont.  it does look to be crimped very tightly though, so I can't really tell if it's the right one or not.  I'll probably swing by Lee's tomorrow, though, and take a look.

-Nick

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[Ian Smith]

I don't think it's the exact tool. The pins are a little bent after the crimp. But it does work and is reliable. You can also do the larger crimps on the reverse side of the tool.

When I first bought it, I bought a bag of ends, then tried it in the store before buying it.

[Rob Hall]

Awsome now i have a comparison pic and i can order the die i need for my ratcheting  frame

On May 21, 2015 10:27 PM, "Ian Smith" <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't think it's the exact tool. The pins are a little bent after the crimp. But it does work and is reliable. You can also do the larger crimps on the reverse side of the tool.

When I first bought it, I bought a bag of ends, then tried it in the store before buying it.

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[Ian Smith]

I'm Sulawesi's working on one project or another and have friends who are the same so it was worth it to me to get reliable connections.

[Rob Hall]

I suspect if I have a set of dies for my crimper
I am sure I will find plenty of use for it

On May 24, 2015 2:36 PM, "Ian Smith" <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm Sulawesi's working on one project or another and have friends who are the same so it was worth it to me to get reliable connections.

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[Daniel Friesen]

I bought the $45 blue ones from Lee's. When I asked, the clerk said that none of the "yellow ones" were made to crimp the connectors I brought along.

...though I'm not sure he actually looked at the ones Ian bought. Which were beside a yellow pair of another kind of crimper which he pulled out and looked at and a bunch of other yellow color crimpers.



This is how my connectors turned out:

~Daniel Friesen (Dantman, Nadir-Seen-Fire) [http://danielfriesen.name/]

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[Ian Smith]

Thank you for the pictures. The one that I have is not 100% perfect. But it does work. It's hard to tell scale in the photos, maybe your connectors are a different size.

[Daniel Friesen]

For scale, if it helps, the wires are 26AWG.

The yellow one has the ratcheting design as well?

~Daniel Friesen (Dantman, Nadir-Seen-Fire) [http://danielfriesen.name/]

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[Ian Smith]

Yes, the yellow ones ratchet as well.  I haven't tried removing the dies to see if they can be changed.  My first impression was that they might.  I think the yellow ones are for either slightly larger connectors 16-18, or a different brand.  I can take some measurements when I get home.  Doesn't really matter as long as they are working for you. 

[Rob Hall]

I will be ordering this die here soon for my crimper i have set of dies for a smaller  framed crimping tool i ordered by accident if anyone can use you have them

On Jun 3, 2015 6:40 AM, "Ian Smith" <iansm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, the yellow ones ratchet as well.  I haven't tried removing the dies to see if they can be changed.  My first impression was that they might.  I think the yellow ones are for either slightly larger connectors 16-18, or a different brand.  I can take some measurements when I get home.  Doesn't really matter as long as they are working for you. 

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[NickW]

BTW, I picked up the "yellow one", and it seems to do the trick for the dupont connectors, and an even nicer job on the 2.54 molex style.

It's "TNI-U" brand. :P
TU-190-08