Ask HN: How to Reduce Time Spent Crimping?
3 comments
> I take about 60 sec per crimp, and I don't have the exact tools in this guide
What tool(s) do you have?
> Buy better crimp tools
This is most likely your better path forward (as even if you go with pre-crimped, unless you can get all custom wires pre-crimped on both ends you'll likely still need to make some crimped ends). And not only "crimp" tools, but also better wire stripping tools (as you do have to strip the wire before you crimp it). The better tools significantly reduce the time needed, and for 15+ crimps per unit, may make a world of difference overall.
What tool(s) do you have?
> Buy better crimp tools
This is most likely your better path forward (as even if you go with pre-crimped, unless you can get all custom wires pre-crimped on both ends you'll likely still need to make some crimped ends). And not only "crimp" tools, but also better wire stripping tools (as you do have to strip the wire before you crimp it). The better tools significantly reduce the time needed, and for 15+ crimps per unit, may make a world of difference overall.
TFSFVentures(1)
Here's the design constraints that come to mind:
1. We have about 15 connections to make
2. Most of our connections are JST-XH, some are JST-SM. We could maybe simplify to just JST-XH and then buy pre-crimped wires, but we like having the locking connections for wire-to-wire connections
3. Sometimes we need different connectors at opposing ends of wire, but if we buy pre-crimped SM and SH we could splice the appropriate lines together.
4. We want to keep the 2.54mm pitch, to interface with simple OTS boards
My best ideas:
1. Buy pre-crimped JST-XH wires, and change one end to JST-SM as needed. This should get rid of ~80% the crimping effort.
2. Move entirely to JST-XH, buy pre-crimped wires, and accept slightly worse wire-to-wire connections.
3. Buy better crimp tools, practice like hell, and 'git gud'
Are there other ideas I should consider? Is there a secret or a better guide to crimp faster? I know this is a noob-ish question, any help is appreciated. I have googled, searched youtube, and asked the various LLMs, and the ideas listed above are the result.