iCrimp SN-01BM Ratchet Crimper AWG28-20 for XH2.54/3.96,PH2.0,PX,JST,Molex Terminal

I have several different sizes of iCrimp ratchet crimper tools. This one is the smallest of the set and has been used mostly for Molex micro terminals. Provided that you select the right size anvil holes for the terminal and the wire used, the result is excellent. I've wired a bunch of connectors with these, and they are still performing well. The tools are solidly built and smooth in use.

I do a lot of automation work using Arduino and Raspberry Pi for things like sensors, fans, etc. I'm OCD about having perfect cables/connections. I have tried five crimp tools and even after dialing in the right crimp pressure and inspecting every crimp and making sure the insulation crimp was flat but often have the last insertion in the housing blow out the sidewall of the housing or ruining the crimp trying to force the pin into the housing.I read an article the other day on hackaday.io about using the proper tool for the job and the author recommended the $425 manufacturer's tool for the perfect crimp. Way too expensive for my needs. Realizing that, he recommended this crimp tool as second best.It turns out, most low cost crimp tools form an elliptical crimp making it hard to insert the pin into the housing. It also seems to spread the sidewall of each position out so the last position would blow out the side wall. The uneven force of an elliptical shaped crimp can also increase the resistance of the connection.This crimp tool is different in that the shape of the jaws makes for a more circular (cylindrical) crimp even on the insulation part of the crimp.I received this tool yesterday and this morning started to make some test crimps on 26 and 28 awg wires. When I pushed the pins into the housing, they just slipped in so easily I couldn't believe it! All of the latches were evenly closed which I sometimes had to live with questionable latching if I knew the connector wouldn't be disturbed and not have anyone pulling on the cable. When I flipped open the latch, the pin slid out as easily as it had slid in!Although it might not be the "perfect" tool for dupont connectors but I didn't have one bad crimp in all of my test crimps.

This crimp tool is listed as suitable for the Molex KK254 terminals (Molex p/n 08-50-0114). But it's not really good for those. The die is not wide enough to encompass both the wire and insulation sections of the terminal at the same time. So either you get a good crimp on the insulation or on the wire, but not both. So then you have to shift the terminal and crimp again. This often results in the terminal being bent or otherwise deformed so it won't slide easily into the Molex housing. (Example: Molex housing p/n 22-01-3027)I gave it 4 stars because it's a really nice tool. It's slick. The ratchet and everything work really well. It's just not suitable for the KK 254 terminals. I returned it. I'm still in need of a crimperthat works with those.

I use this tool for crimping JST XH pins. I gave it 5 stars for ease of use but crimping these small pins is not easy; at least not yet since I am a complete novice to crimping those pins. Positioning of the pins in the tool is the difficult part. Once that is accomplished the tool operation is easy.I also purchase a kit with pins and connector housings. Many of my first crimps were near failures in that the retaining tab was crushed back into the pin and I had to dig it out for the pin to function. I also purchased pins from a popular electronic components company that worked much better in that there was more clearance for the retaining tab to be clear of the tool for the crimp. There was also more spacing from pin to pin on a string of pins. Keeping the pin on a short string rather than breaking the pin off an then trying to insert it into the tool makes pin insertion more manageable. The slightly wider distance between pins helps.

The SN-025 is great for the price for crimping Amphenol mini-pv ("Dupont") connectors, which require an M shaped crimp instead of a round one. The real Amphenol tools are much, much more expensive, like over $1000. Even if the SN-025 crimps aren't as perfect as with a genuine tool, at least these work infinitely better than any of the more commonly found budget tools that only have a round crimp.The other comparable tool to consider would be the Engineer PA-24. (Note that the much more popular Engineer PA-09 is terrible for Dupont connectors--despite the advice you will find online, you should only use the PA-09 for things that require a round crimp, like JST connectors.) The PA-24 is harder to find and more expensive than the SN-025. The main difference between the two is that the SN-025 crimps both the wire and insulation at the same time, while the PA-24 requires you to crimp one after the other. Since I own both, I find that I end up using them both quite often. For instance, I'll use the tip of the PA-24 to pinch the wings of a mini-pv connector so that it fits better into the SN-025, and if something goes wrong with my SN-025 crimp, often I can sort of fix it up using the PA-24. Nonetheless, if I had to have only one, I'd probably go with the SN-025.