[Tooling] Crimp tools for Molex connectors ?

[kraal]

Hello everybody,

This question is more about gathering information about connectors and wires to be used inside a diy stompbox, rather than about stompbox circuits, but maybe you can help.

I was planning to use small form-factor connectors such as Molex Pico-EZmate Slim (1mm pitch), and Pico-Lock (1.5mm pitch) with AWG 24-28 flat wires. I checked and they fit perfectly in my design and they are not "that expensive". At least this is what I was thinking until I checked the crimp terminals (open barrel type) and saw at what price Molex sells the corresponding crimp tool. I understand that (and why) specialized tools are expensive, but paying almost 500 USD for "single purpose pliers" (yes it is only designed for Pico-Lock crimp terminals) is ways to much for me.

So here are my questions.

• Are Molex crimp terminals really THAT specific (to the point of not being "crimpable" with standard tools) ?
• Do you have experience with such connectors ?
• Do you know good /reliable/durable crimp tools that would crimp "decently" terminals for these connectors (observed compatibility) ?
• Do you know a website where I could find tools that are compatible with such Molex terminals ?

As a side note, I mailed some companies producing "general purpose" crimp tools (i.e. not designed for a single type of terminals) in order to ask them if they have tested their tools on such terminals. At least one producer answered and if I find no information elsewhere, I can send them samples in order to have them run some tests.

Thank you in advance,

Michel

[imJonWain]

My experience is that the generic tools work fine for large size crimp terminals but once you get down smaller then ~2.54mm pitch it becomes a tricky to make a reliable crimp every time.  If you're not making a lot of crimps it's probably not a big deal to take the time to be careful on each one.

I used something similar to this for prototypes using a similar small Molex connector but it was a pain for making lots of connections.
https://www.amazon.com/IWISS-Crimping-AWG28-20-Terminals-Connectors/dp/B078WNZ9FW/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=molex+crimp&qid=1593100568&sr=8-4

This works great for the larger pitch crimps and isn't too expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Molex-63811-1000-Service-Grade-Crimping/dp/B00OVF2AKI/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=Micro+crimp+tool&qid=1593101031&sr=8-11

[Kevin Mitchell]

There's a few options. I had to purchase one for flag connectors years ago and now I use it for all connectors. It's ratcheting so it'll hold the flag/pin in place while you feed the wire. Less fumbling.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OMM4YUY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had tried to use it recently to connect a molex connector to a 4 wire shielded cable. Even though the cable was within the crimper's rating, the wires seemed to be too small to stay on the pins. I ended up touching them with solder to make sure they stayed connected.

[kraal]

Thank you to both of you for your replies.

I had a look at IWISS products yesterday (both SN-28B and IWS-2820M) but it seems to be not possible to order them from Switzerland on the US Amazon website..., and it's not available on european Amazon websites (well it's available on the french one, however the seller has a very bad reputation...) I found some copies (same serial numbers), however when digging a bit, it appears that they do not have the same head (they do not have the heart shape part).

Still looking for a viable solution 

[CodeMonk]

I got something similar to what JonWain posted...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07476C1LD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works fine for the Molex Spox connectors that you can find on Smallbear: https://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/molex-headers-and-assemblies-1/?sort=featured&page=1

Maybe this link will have something for you : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=molex+crimping+tool&i=tools&crid=2KLD4NJPZNUA9&sprefix=molex+crimping%2Ctools%2C314&ref=nb_sb_ss_ac-a-p_1_14

[Phoenix]

My favourite for small crimp contacts are the Engineer brand set of PA-09, PA-20 and PA-21. If you can only get one, PA-21 seems to cover most of the crimps I use anyway.

I've not used the iWiss tools, though I've heard them compared favourably or even preferred. I did recently watch a BigClive video where he compared a whole series of crimping tools, and while he's normally a great source of practical experience my only real take away from that particular video is that he doesn't have a lot of experience with small crimps 
He did express a preference for the iWiss though fwiw.

[kraal]

Thank you Rob, Greg,

The Blig Clive video is interesting, however he doesn't try to crimp really tiny terminals. It seems to be really difficult to find information about this topic :-/

For now the IWISS SN-2820M and Engineer PA-09 are on top of my (affordable) list:
- The SN-2820M is cheap, has good reviews, but it seems to be difficult to have it delivered to Switzerland.
- The PA-09 is also well rated, and its datasheet provides a compatibility list. However it's almost 3 times more expansive than the SN-2820M. I'll try to contact them to see if they can test the tool with the terminals I'm aiming for.

Notes:
- SPOX connectors' terminals are bigger than the ones I'm looking at.
- the PA-20/21 are not designed for really small terminals

[CodeMonk]

My bad.
Its Mini-Spox
Like so: https://www.molex.com/molex/products/family/minispox

Those are the ones I use and the crimper I bought works fine on those.

[anotherjim]

Just to add that the proper tools can wreck the crimp just as easily as a generic tool if you're not super careful loading the crimp in. Smaller sizes, loading gets trickier.
Some places do stock single prewired housings, although mostly 2 to 4 way. They're cheap enough that I'd buy them but the caveat is that the wire/insulation type might not suit soldering at the other end.

Small print - you probably void the warranty if you don't use an official tool. Has anybody ever sent a crimp back?

[CodeMonk]

Small print - you probably void the warranty if you don't use an official tool. Has anybody ever sent a crimp back?

Haha.
Yeah.
Back in the 80s, 90s and beyond, I worked in electronic manufacturing. Primarily Defense and Aerospace.
I've had QC send a few connectors back for bad crimping. And we had the $1000 crimpers. Which actually kind of suck, because some have that ratcheting mechanism, where once you start, you have to follow all the way through.

But, after a few hundred crimps, it becomes as natural as breathing.

[ElectricDruid]

I just side-stepped this problem by using the IDC versions of the molex plugs. For those you don't need a very expensive tool, but instead a much cheaper metal mushroom to push the wire down into the IDC connector. Still, the mushrooms are very expensive for what they are, just not anywhere near as expensive as the crimping tool.

[kraal]

I finally ordered the Engineer PA-09. I will test it then report here my findings (it may be of interest to other people)