3 ms·
Why are crimping tools always so dang expensive?
by foobarbecue 3y ago
Why are crimping tools always so dang expensive?
- flaviut 3y agoLow volume, and everyone who isn't a big company just buys clones. If you are a company or care about reliability, you have to get the OEM version but hopeful you amortize it over thousands of crimps.
- fest 3y agoMy guess is that they need to be cut using EDM (slow) and need expensive CMM machines to make sure the resulting die shapes match the tolerance. I know you're probably referring to OEM hand crimping tools that cost on the order of 500€/$, but even decent quality non-OEM tools (e.g. Engineer PAD-11) aren't exactly cheap. Though, I hear IWISS ones are usable if you're on a budget.
- dymk 3y agoThe generics are pretty cheap, but I guess it's a relative matter. I got a PA-20 for $35 on Amazon and it works with all the Molex micro-fit I've thrown at it. Each crimp takes much longer than if I had the $500 purpose-built tool from Molex itself, but I do so few it doesn't matter.
- 83 3y agoThe higher end (Daniels / DMC) are very precise tools that you should calibrate with a go/no go gauge. If you handle one you can see why they are fairly expensive - everything is precise, heavy, and without slop and must remain so over thousands of crimps.