Page 18 - IEC Insights Jul-Aug19

FEATURE

When choosing the best tool for making

electrical compression connections, there’s a
lot more at stake than just personal preference.

Accountability. Reliability. Appearance. Productivity. Safety. For as long as compression tools have existed,
these have been the main drivers in determining which crimpers contractors and engineers considered.
Though die crimpers have often prevailed because of their reliability, inspect-ability and visually good-
looking crimps, dieless crimpers are often simpler to use and can help contractors save time and overall
cost on projects. However, current dieless users should not have to sacrifice appearance, reliability and
inspect-ability of their connections simply because of their tool choice.

THE PROBLEMS WITH CURRENT DIELESS TOOLS
Despite various permutations and technological advancements that have increased the efficiency of die crimpers, the same cannot
be readily said about dieless. Four-point and single-point tools have historically been the only options available, each with their own
set of disadvantages.

QUAD POINT TOOL SINGLE POINT TOOL

Used more commonly, four-point tools require multiple While easier to use, single-point tools are designed around
and different numbers of crimps for each connector and the largest sized connectors, with extra wide nests and
their “teeth” are proneto breaking when the connector isn’t large indenters that completely mash and distort the middle
perfectly aligned. and smaller sizes. This distortion makes it difficult to land
connectors to equipment

16 Insights Magazine | July/August 2019 | www.ieci.org