How do you use a crimp terminal tool, and how do they work?

A crimp terminal tool, also called a crimp terminal connector, is used to easily and tightly attach a crimp terminal to the end of a cable. How to attach a crimp terminal to the end of a cable and how to use a crimping tool  to do this, can be read in this blog!

Attaching a crimp terminal to a cable

When you want to connect a crimp terminal to a cable, two things are of importance: that you following a few important steps, and that you use the right equipment: a crimp terminal tool, or crimp terminal connector. View our full range of crimp terminal tools here.

Attaching a crimp terminal to a cable, step by step:

1. Strip the end of the cable, so that the wires are exposed. Make sure that the right amount of wire is visible: the wires should completely fit into the crimp terminal. When loose wires remain exposed, there is chance of a shortcircuit.
2. Use the crimp terminal tool to attach the crimp terminal to the cable, by placing the crimp terminal (with the wires in the crimp terminal) in the crimp terminal tool at the spot where the colour on the crimp terminal tool corresponds with the colour of the insulation sleeve on the crimp terminal. Then, squeeze the handle to attach the crimp terminal to the cable.
3. Check if the crimp terminal is strongly and tightly attached to the cable. If you want more security with regards to the connection between the crimp terminal and the cable, you can use heat shrink tubing to make the connection even stronger, by shrinking heat shrink tubing on the connection between the crimp terminal and the cable. Read our blog on how to use heat shrink tubing here.

The use of a crimp terminal tool

A crimp terminal tool has multiple functionalities, spread out over the length of the tool. Normally, a crimp terminal tool contains the following parts, from the handle up to the tip of the crimp terminal tool:

1. Directly above the handle, the tool contains a few notches, with which cables of varying thicknesses can be stripped – the cable thickness that each notch can strip, are shown on the tool. See A.
2. Above these notches, there is another series of notches using which uninsulated crimp terminals can be attached to a cable. For each of these notches, the corresponding width of the uninsulated crimp terminal is shown. See B.
3. Above those notches, there is a new, final set of notches, each of which is colour-coded. For each insulation sleeve colour, there is a corresponding notch on the crimp terminal tool. See C.
4. Sometimes, the crimp terminal tool also contains a cable cutter, using which a cable can be cut.

Are you interested in our range of crimp terminals, or in our range of crimp terminal tools? View our range of crimp terminals here, and our range of crimp terminal tools here!