Best Practices in Crimp
Applicator Maintenance
A few years ago, I was asked to give a presentation at the Electrical
Wire Processing Technology Expo on best practices for crimp applicator
maintenance. At the time, I assumed that everyone knew how to maintain
their crimp applicators. After all, one of the most significant factors in
crimp quality is an applicator that is in good condition. With quality
standards getting tighter and tighter and the implementation of crimp
force monitors continuing to rise, applicator maintenance is a key factor
in any crimp process. However, it’s become clear that many companies
neglect this key task or simply don’t know what is needed. Therefore, I
decided to put my presentation into an article.
In addition to Schleuniger’s recommendations,
I gathered feedback from other industry
experts on crimping applicators such as
TE, Panduit, Molex, Hanke, Applitek, and
Mechtrix. The following is a culmination of the
recommendations on how to best maintain
crimping applicators to ensure high quality
output and years of trouble-free performance.
Basic cleaning
What is likely the most important thing about
applicator maintenance is probably the simplest:
keeping the applicator clean and free from excessive
dirt and terminal scraps. Applicators should be
cleaned using a soft bristle brush and never with
compressed air. Compressed air tends to blow
particles into cracks and crevices where it shouldn’t
be.
Applicators should get a basic cleaning daily, or after
every shift. They should get a thorough cleaning at
least once a week or every 25,000 cycles. A thorough
cleaning would consist of completely disassembling
the applicator so that dirt and metal scraps can be
removed from the tooling, the slides, and the feed
4 WIRE NEWS January 2018
track. This is also a wonderful time to check the
condition of the crimping dies and anvils to ensure
that they are not damaged.
Lubrication
Applicators should be lubricated once per day.
Synthetic lubricants and greases such as Permatex
(with PTFE), Superlube and Chevron Ultra Duty
were commonly recommended. Synthetic motor
oil such as SAE 20 or 30 was also recommended
because it is relatively inexpensive and easy to
purchase. A simple 3-in-1 oil is also commonly used.
A light coating of lubricant is all that is needed on
any component that might see friction. Ensure the
slides and tooling are thoroughly coated but don’t
put on too much. Too much grease tends to attract
and hold dirt and debris which might work against
you.
Finally, a terminal oiler is recommended for gold
plated terminals. Because gold is so soft, it will rub
off and start to coat the crimp tooling. Eventually,
the buildup causes the terminals to stick excessively
in the crimp tooling. A terminal oiler minimizes this
buildup.