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Upstream Quality Factors: Wire

April 7, 2018 wireprocess Application Illustrations, C&S Technologies Comments Off

A wire termination is a very simple process: take a wire and terminal, force them together using a range of crimping tools and voila, a crimped wire.

A quality crimp is altogether different. Not so much in the crimp process, it is is somewhat the same. But ensuring the wire performs well over the life of the product and the process to assemble that wire with repeatable quality requires specialized knowledge. And application of that knowledge to the crimp process. This is very critical in electrical assembly today with the cost of failure (rejects, re-work, loss of customer confidence, liability) being so high. Which is precisely why we publish this technical blog: to arm you with the knowledge and processing tools needed.

We have covered a number of topics directly related to crimp quality. Such as Headroom, wire to crimp process sensitivity. Also Crimp Tool Setup Variability. Using tools such as Crimp Cross Section Analysis and Crimp Monitors to validate and monitor crimp quality.

In this post, we are going to move “upstream” and consider the effect of the wire itself to the crimp process. Considering the elements of the wire and the effect on process variation. Also the process (cut and strip) to prepare the wire for crimping.

Reviewing and controlling all factors in the crimp process makes for more consistent results. And a level higher sensitivity to allow for a CFM to pick up small differences in the crimp process.

It all starts with quality wire. Consistent and repeatable material is critical to consistent crimp quality. And by extension, the ability of a crimp monitor to detect other defects related to the wire to terminal crimp process. Lot by lot and supplier to supplier consistency is important. Some of the factors in process variation:

Wire Stranding
- Dimensions and Material.
- Wire Twist.
- Strand Count.
Insulation dimensions and material.
Wire Concentricity. Concentric wire allows for closer stripping of the insulation and ultimately better strip quality. Non-Concentric wire means the strip blades must be positioned farther away from the wire stranding to ensure the wire is not contacted by the blades, causing nicks and scrapes to the strands. Plus strip quality if affected.

Non-Concentric Wire

It continues with consistent processing methods. Wire Cut and Strip methods contribute to crimp quality in a positive or negative manner. Today’s technology motorized processing machines handle wire in a precision far better than previous generation machines. But they are far from infallible. In addition no matter how precise they are, external forces can introduce process variation that can affect the crimp process. Here are primary variables in wire cut and strip processing:

Strip Length. Length variation can be random or consistently high or low. Random strip length variation can be affected by the back pressure from the wire source. Consistently high or low strip lengths are typically programming errors from the process setup. Strip length variation can come from the processing equipment itself but is more of a rare condition than the conditions mentioned above.
- Strip length variation whether random or consistent directly affects crimp quality. The conditions are the same whether an operator presents the wire to a “wire stop” in the terminal applicator or a swing arm on an automatic cutter presents the wire to the applicator. A strip length that is too short presents a high insulation condition where insulation is embedded in the wire crimp. Low insulation means the insulation is partly or completely out of the insulation barrel.

Example of Normal Crimp Curve

Example of Crimp with High Insulation

Strip Quality. A few conditions can affect strip quality:
- Wire Concentricity. See above.
- Blade Type or condition. Dull blades can cause residual insulation to enter the wire crimp. Universal V blades are good for most applications. But in some cases, no matter how much the blade setup is tweaked, the strip quality is not good. This could be due to the wire type. An alternate blade profile might be a better option. Such as a radius V style which cuts around the full periphery of the insulation.
Dirty Wire. This condition does not show up in a visual condition or as an error condition with a crimp monitor. It can affect the electrical properties of the wire. High electrical resistance is possible where contamination is severe. Contamination can be oxidation from wire that has been stored for a long time. In addition, residual oils or chemicals used in the wire production can be present.

Awareness of processing variables is critical. Applying this knowledge is even more critical. Employee training is important and could be considered one of your last lines of defense in detecting crimp defects. Good validation and monitoring tools are invaluable to assist in process control and improvement. Especially when your production depends on automation systems with high production rates. A lot of wires can be produced that are not possible to detect fast enough by a human.

Automate your setup validation to improve production efficiency and reduce the chance of setup error from the wrong information.

Crimp Quality Solutions is your end to end support for the terminal crimp process. We have the tools in your drive to take your crimp process to the next level. Do you have Crimp Monitors installed but do not use them? You are in the CFM Cycle. Crimp Performance Optimization is our solution to reactivate the crimp monitors to monitor your crimp process. Connect with WPS.

Components and Processing Solutions for Large Cable Wire Processing.

October 6, 2017 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Carpenter Manufacturing, Etco, Judco Mfg Comments Off

Wire comes in a multitude of sizes and configurations and is used in a vast number of electrical and electronic devices and assemblies. In recent years, efforts to reduce overall weight of a wire harness mean smaller wire gauges and thinner wire insulation are being used. At the same time electrical demands of some products have increased the requirement for larger cable, able to handle a higher current load. The automotive industry is a prime example of the demands to address both ranges; smaller to bring weight down for more fuel efficiency and larger for emerging applications such as electric car batteries and hybrid fuel cells.

This article will focus on processes and components used in assemblies with large cables.

Defining Large Cable Processing.
For the purposes of this article, we will discuss processing (cut, jacket strip and wire end process assembly) on wire 6 awg and larger. Also multi-conductor cables with individual insulated wires encased in an outer insulation jacket or sheath. In general, as the wire size increases, the production volume decreases. Production volumes typically dictate whether single or multi stage processing solutions are deployed. We will outline single and multi stage processing solutions.

Single Processing Tools

Processing tools that perform a single function.

Wire Cut

The Wezag SH Series Hand cutter series features a ratchet action and can cut wire up to 350 mm in diameter.

The Model 31 from Carpenter Mfg is a lever style wire cutter designed to cut wire and other materials. Featuring a guillotine blade, and adjustable wire guides, the model 31 can cut material 1″ in diameter and 4″ wide. Wire up to 0 awg can be cut and (material dependent) up to 2/0.

Wire Strip

The Carpenter 72C is a dual blade rotary wire stripper. The 72C processes a wide range of single and multi-conductor wire. Quick change wire guides center the wire for nick free processing.

The Carpenter 77E wire stripper is a pneumatic heavy cable wire stripper. The large wire grippers provide high pulling power for tightly bound insulation and large cross sections. The 77E uses fully adjustable V blades and quick change wire guides for accurate and repeatable processing. Form blades can also be used where V blades do not provide the desired results.

The Beri.Co.Megamax is a heavy duty programmable wire stripper capable of multi-stage precision wire stripping for cable up to 25.00 mm wire diameter. The Megamax can process large OD coaxial wire. The Megamax is one of three high capacity multi-stage wire strippers available through our partner Schaefer Megomat.

Wire Crimp

Wire Process Specialties supplies crimp technology for loose and reel fed contacts. The WDT (Wezag) UP60 shown at the left is a pneumatically activated crimping press that can crimp large terminals such as battery lugs up to 180 square mm. Interchangeable adaptors with a wide range of die sets provide maximum flexibility.

Multi-Stage Wire Processing

Process machines that perform more than one function during a single machine cycle.

Measure/Cut

The Compu-Cut 42B is a heavy duty wire and tubing cutter with a 4″ wide blade and 1″ opening. Flat cable and tubing as well as round wire and multi-conductor cable can be processed using the 42B. Add additional wire separators and multiple rows of material can be processed to maximize production quantities. The cutter head is pneumatically operated and the feed unit is electrically motor driven for accurate cut lengths.

The Compu-Cut 36A is an additional option for cutting heavy duty wire. With a special guided blade holder and a standard utility knife blade, the 36A makes precision cuts on large gauge wire as well as semi ridgid tube.

Terminals and Connectors

ETCO is a supplier of terminals and connectors. ETCO has two manufacturing facilities in the USA for processing reel fed and loose piece heavy duty terminals. ETCO terminals are manufactured to exacting quality requirements using state of the art fabricating equipment.

The connector at left is a top post battery terminal. This is one of many terminal styles for heavy cable and power cords. ETCO can also supply custom fabricated connectors to your design.

Special Processes

The Judco FLG2 processes heat shrinkable tube around large cable, battery lugs or other connector systems. The FLG2 is energy efficient and shrinks tube fast with low cost quartz halogen bulbs and mirrors to focus light energy around the material being processed.

These are a few solutions for processing wire and cable harnesses available from Wire Process Specialties, your authority in wire processing, connectors and terminal crimp technology. Connect Your Way to WPS to see how we can help your company reduce cost and improve the efficiency of your wire assembly processes.

You Asked: “When should we automate?”

September 5, 2016 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Schaefer Megomat Comments Off

Automation is a big step most manufacturing companies consider at one point in time. There are a distinct advantages which include improved quality and more accurate piece to piece consistency.

This question to automate is frequently asked. Is there a trigger that pushes you to make a decision to invest in automation? Are there signs leading to that decision? We will address these topics in this post. First a short answer and following some points to consider.

The short answer is no. There are no defined rules to move you into automation. Every company and their business conditions are different. Some will move quicker to automate while others integrate automation much slower. Volume per batch is less of a consideration. Annual production volume is a greater consideration.

There is a sliding scale to automation. In general, any production above manual hand tool processing can be considered automation. For a perspective on a migration path from manual to automated processing, consider Methods of Processing Wire Assemblies. For the basis of our discussion, we are focusing on the migration from semi automating processing of wire (measure, cut and strip using single or multi-stage bench top machines) to an automated work center.

Elements of wire processing automation

The most basic of processing automation is the measure, cut and strip of wire and crimp of terminals on one or both ends. But automation allows for other processing possibilities. Typical secondary processing options include:

Tin tipping of wire
Ultrasonic tipping of wire
Weather seal application.
Wire doubling.

Ultrasonic wire tipping

Weather Seal Application

Current or future processing should include an evaluation of processing wire leads using the above secondary processing. This makes justification easier to achieve and gives the company an indication of the scope of machine solution needed.

Set up time and job lot sizes.

In the past, automation was justified based on one or several large production runs. That was due to the time it took to change from one set up to the next. Pneumatic motions and bolted in production tooling gave way to programmable servo motors and quick change tooling bases. Therefore it is easier to run smaller lots with less machine down time than in the past.

With production rates in excess of 3,000 pieces per hour on short wire lengths, there still needs to be a reasonable lot size. Providing a recommended lot size would not be useful as companies consider a range of minimum lot sizes. You just need to balance the set up time with the lot size and the acceptable number of set ups per day.

Labor Savings.

There is a potential for significant labor savings when moving to automation. But consider that the personnel that operate the automation systems need to be trained in the machine operations, the software and use of a micro processor communication interface. Also consider maintenance resources.

Conditions Triggering a move to Automation.

Typically there are two conditions that we see when companies migrate to automation.

Business Growth. This is a slower movement towards the point where the decision to automate occurs. Available resources in capital funding, facility floor space space and the need to reduce direct labor content will converge to make a seamless decision to automate.
New Contract. When the company receives a substantial contract for a specified duration, the decision is quicker.

Floor space can be a factor that speeds up or slows down the decision to automate. Limitation of floor space to accommodate the new machine installation can be an issue. Re-locating to a larger facility may be part of a larger business strategy that includes new automation investment. Often it is a balance between the distribution of labor, overall direct labor costs and the availability of floor space.

Summary.

As stated from the beginning, automation is a big step in any company large or small. Considering global annual production of wire assemblies that are processed is more important than large lot sizes due to the reduced set up time with newer technology processing machines. Redeployment of labor, training personnel in set up operation and maintenance are critical factors. Where a decision to automate is made from a new large volume contract, the duration of the contract is also an important factor.

When these elements are considered and in conjunction with good advice from outside sources, the migration to automation is a low risk proposition. WireProcess can provide the direction you need and the solutions required to fulfill your automation requirements. Connect Your Way to WireProcess.

Wire Processing Solutions for Communication Cables

July 16, 2015 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Carpenter Manufacturing, Judco Mfg, Schaefer Megomat, Wezag Tools Comments Off

Wire Processing Techniques span a number of assembly categories. In this posting we cover some of the processing methods used in assembling a communication cable.

We will focus on a few cable types that represent the wider variety of communications cable assemblies and share processing methods.

Coaxial Cable

Coax cable generally has several layers including an outer jacket, woven metal shield and dielectric insulation over a center conductor. Most applications require two or three stage stripping. This wire is normally crimped into a round coaxial connector. Stripping specifications are specified by the connector manufacturer to match the connector. The connectors are loose piece and have a pin that is crimped to the center conductor and the housing is placed over the wire and crimped on. The trend of coaxial cable is consistent with other wire, that is the range is increasing. We are seeing micro coax cables and at the other end large cable such as LMR400 for large telecomm installations such as cell towers.

Wire Cut to Length.

As this wire is typically stripped in two or three stages in an offline process (see Wire Strip), wire is separately cut to length.

Model 31 manual cutter from Carpenter Manufacturing

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Wire Strip

As mentioned above, this wire is normally stripped in two of three stages in a fixed strip length that is specified by the connector manufacturer. These multiple stages are processed using a programmable unit which can process multiple strips in sequence. Or separating the two or three processes onto separately adjusted stripping heads. See illustrations below.

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Carpenter Model 74

Schaefer ST730 Coaxial Wire Stripper

Rittmeyer Beri.Co.Max Coaxial Wire Stripper for large cable.

Crimp

Crimping coaxial connectors is also a two step process. A terminal is crimped to the center conductor. The connector housing is assembled over the wire and crimped to the insulation. The crimp is normally hex shaped. Hand or bench equipment for loose piece terminals is used to crimp both the center conductor and connector housing.

Wezag CS30 Hand Crimp Tool

Wezag CS300 Electric Crimper for Loose Piece terminals.

Automated processing of coaxial wire is possible for high volume applications.

RJ11 and RJ45 Cables

Cut and Strip

Cut and strip of RJ11 or RJ45 is possible. This wire is either flat (as pictured below) or round. Flat or radius blades are required to provide the desired nick and scrape free results.

RJ11 Parallel Wire Stripped on Carpenter Compu-Strip 97A.

Strip

Inner conductors and the outer jacket (round cable) can also be stripped stripped using rotary or blade style of wire strippers as illustrated below. Results are application dependent as some wire is irregular in shape.

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Carpenter Model 72C

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Carpenter Model 78

Crimp

Modular plugs are loose piece and require a linear action crimp head to crimp (Insulation displacement) modular plugs. The crimp heads are designed to process all leads at one time. Crimping can be done on the CS300 as pictured above or a pneumatic powered crimper like the SSC below.

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Multi-Conductor Cables

Cut and Strip

A cut and strip machine as described for the RJ11/45 wire above can also be used to remove the outer jacket of a multi-conductor wire. Radius blades may be required for some applications. For larger volume applications, wire processing machines are available where the outer jacket and inner conductors are processed at the same time.

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Strip

In addition to the outer jacket stripping using a bench top rotary as described above, larger cross sections and longer strip lengths may require a heavy duty wire stripper as illustrated below.

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Crimp

Crimping can be loose piece using the CS300 or SSC as described above or reel form terminals on strip.

Side Feed applicator from Applitek.

Summary

As shown by the above applications, there are cross over techniques to these three examples. And by extension, other similar communication wire types. Finding the proper mix of processing methods is important to optimize a specific customer requirement. And that requires a partner that has the broad application knowledge and connections to produce the desired result. WireProcess Specialties is that partner. We have the resources and partnerships you need. Connect Your Way to WireProcess Specialties.

Extended Processing Solutions for Wire Assembly

February 24, 2015 wireprocess Application Illustrations Comments Off

Wire Processing is commonly known by it’s basic processes: wire measure to length and cut, wire stripping and crimping of a terminal to one or both ends of the wire. These hook up wires by themselves form an electrical connection in an electrical device. Multiple wires are grouped together to form a wire harness with multiple connections. Wire Harnesses are typically held together with cable ties and/or enapsulated in sheathing such as convoluted plastic tube, heat shrink or tape.

As a wire assembly becomes more complex and as new materials are introduced, additional processing becomes necessary. These processes are unique and are performed on either single or multi-process machines mounted on a bench top or an automation system. This article will cover some of these special processes that are used in a wire harness.

Wire Splicing

There are a range of methods to splice two or more wires in an assembly. These methods range from manual processes such as solder and loose piece splice clips to more automated processes such as reel feed splices and ultrasonic wire splicing. Different industries may embrace a specific method of splicing. For example, the aerospace industry uses solder sleeves as a primary splice method where the automotive industry almost exclusively uses ultrasonic.

Ultrasonic welding uses high frequency vibration and pressure to create a metallurgical bond. The vibration of the materials causes a scrubbing motion which dislodges contaminants such as oxidization and small traces of oils used in the manufacturing process. The result is a bond that has very low electrical resistance. The material does not reach a melting temperature and does not depend on materials with similar melting points. As a result small wire splices as well as large cross sections can be bonded together. The ultrasonic weld process is also used to seal copper tubes for refrigeration, wire to terminal connecting and a great number of electrical and electronic connections.

Wire Splicing using a semi-formed splice like the ETCO autoband is another method to attach leads together as part of wire harness assembly. Splice terminals are low costs and provide a tight compression crimp around the wire.

Heat Shrink Processing

Heat Shrink tube as mentioned in the introduction, is used for encapsulation of a wire harness or portion of a harness. It is also used as an insulator over terminals and isolating connectors to eliminate shorts from bare conductor material (wire and terminals) touching one another.

The standard method of shrinking heat shrink tube is a heat gun. Heat guns are a manual process which requires an operator to present the heat gun to the assembly or the assembly to the heat gun. In cases of long runs of heat shrink, the operator must pass the heat gun over the tube at a steady rate. Other methods are heat shrink ovens which have a hood and conveyor with heated elements and a blower. The tube to be shrunk is loaded to the conveyor and passes through the oven at a set processing speed. Both processes above use heated elements which consume a high level of energy and attract high energy costs. With long runs of heat shrink, processing time is long.

The Focus Lite processing machines from Judco Mfg use energy efficient quartz halogen bulbs and mirrored surfaces to reflect and focus light energy to a central location. Tube is shrunk quickly and efficiently with fraction of the energy. Several models for processing shrink tube up to 1.5″ diameter and 16″ in length. The FL30 is shown in the video above.

Laser Wire Stripping

Wire stripping is a common processing method as outlined in the introduction. Contact wire stripping with a blade if not set up properly can make contact with the wire which could result in a small nick in the wire. Even with a proper set up there is a risk of putting an indent in a strand even if the surface of the strand is not compromised. Some industries such as aerospace are shifting to non contact wire stripping. Laser wire stripping is an emerging technology for applications requiring non contact wire stripping. Specially effective with irregular shaped wire profiles. The wire pictured in the video above is a twisted pair Teflon coated wire, common in aerospace applications. Hand held, bench top and automated processing configurations are possible.

Weather Seal Application

Environments where water or moisture exist require extra protection. Connectors which reside in these environments will use a weather seal to seal off the opening to a connector body. The seal is inserted over a stripped wire and the terminal is crimped over the seal. The seal is crimped to the insulation support portion of the terminal. Terminals designed for weather seals will have an over sized insulation crimp to properly capture the seal. Assembly methods include manual loading, bench top loading, combination seal insertion, strip and crimping and fully automatic assembly on a cut, strip and terminate machine. The Schaefer SSM pictured at the left is mounted to a fully automatic processing machine such as the Megomat 800 six station processing machine.

With over 30 years of experience in processing wire and cable assemblies with state of the art technology, Wire Process Specialties is equipped to provide these or other solutions to your wire processing problems. Connect Your Way to WPS to find out more.

Wire Processing Solutions for Automation Assembly and Electrical Paneling.

January 19, 2014 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Carpenter Manufacturing, Wezag Tools Comments Off

Producing a wire assembly can be a simple process such as a simple hook up wire. It can be as complex as a multi circuit wire harness. Processing solutions for these wire assemblies can also be simple to complex. The appropriate solution generally is dictated by the lot and global production size of a particular sub assembly. Companies who’s core product is a wire assembly generally use a mix of processing solutions from manual hand tools through single process bench equipment to multi process automation. Companies who process a wire assembly as a sub assembly installed into their core product typically use hand tools and bench top single and multi process equipment. This article focuses on solutions for low to moderate wire assembly requirements. Companies who process electronics and printed circuit boards also fit in this category.

Manual Assembly Tools

Wire and Tube Cutting

The Wezag SH series of wire cutters are designed for cutting heavy cable. Ratchet design and long handles provide high compression force with less physical effort.

The Carpenter 31 bench top wire and tube cutter is designed to cut wire and tube using a lever action. The 31 has a 1″ high by 4″ high blade opening allowing for a large range of materials to be processed. Separators can be added to accurately process multiple rows of material.

Wire Crimping

Featured Product

The Wezag AE24 hand crimp tool is a universal hand tool designed to crimp ferrules. A patented design from Wezag offers one universal die set to crimp ferrules from 24 to 10 awg. No more guessing which crimp opening to use making the crimp process faster and more efficient. Ergonomic design reduces fatigue.

Wezag Tools supplies a full line of hand crimp tooling for open barrel terminals, closed barrel insulated and uninsulated terminals terminals and four point crimp for screw machine style pins.

.Powered Single Process Assembly Tools.

Wire Stripping

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Model 78

The Carpenter 78 is a pneumatic wire stripper which can process a wide range of wire sizes. Using easily adjustable knobs to set the wire size, strip and pull lengths, the 78 can quickly change from one wire size to the next making small lots much more cost effective. Other options for wire stripping include rotary wire strippers to efficiently strip the wire and twist the strands.

Terminal Crimping

The Carpenter Accu-Crimp 62 is pneumatically powered and can crimp a wide range of insulated and uninsulated terminals. The die opening is always closed for safety purposes and is opened to load the terminals by pressing the upper knob.

The Wezag CS200 is an electric powered crimp machine for loose piece terminals. The CS200 can accept crimp heads for standard Wezag crimp tools providing the ultimate in flexibility.

Powered Multi Process Assembly Tools.

Wire/Tube Measure and Cut

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Carpenter Compu-Cut 42C

The Compu-Cut 42C is a high performance wire and tube cutting machine with a large opening to process heavy cable, large OD tube, or several rows of material. The 42C uses high accuracy feed motors and a powerful pneumatic cutter head. In addition to the 42C, the Compu-Cut 33 is a smaller cutter for light duty wire and tube processing.

Wire Cut and Strip

Compu-Strip 97A

For more information, please view our product focus on the 97A.

For high current or heavy cable applications, please refer to our article on large cable processing.

Other processing solutions include wire marking, ultrasonic wire splicing and shrinking of heat shrinkable tube.

Wire Process Specialties is equipped to supply your requirements for wire processing from simple manual tools to semi-automation and beyond. Connect Your Way to WPS to find out how we can apply our technology to your processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Terminal Crimping Technology

June 25, 2013 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Applitek, C&S Technologies, Carpenter Manufacturing, Etco, Schaefer Megomat, Wezag Tools Comments Off

Crimping terminals is a common wire assembly process dating back several decades. Over the years processing methods and procedures were established and improved to assure optimum crimp quality and electrical conductivity of the wire to terminal connection. This article will cover the common crimp types, crimp methods used to provide a quality wire to terminal connection and migration path from manual processing to automation of the crimp process.

Crimp Types

Closed Barrel: Closed barrel terminals have a round crimp barrel that surrounds the wire being crimped. There are two typical open barrel configurations, formed by progressive stamping process with a seam where the two sides come together and form a circle and solid machines connector where the crimp barrel is seamless, normally produced on a screw machine. Closed barrel terminals come insulated or non-insulated and are in loose form or on a reel. Examples of closed barrel terminals include rings, quick connects, ferrules and solid pins used in aerospace applications.

Open Barrel: Open barrel terminals are generally U shaped prior to crimping and are crimped around the terminal in a B shape or overlapped. Open barrel terminals are generally available mounted on a reel but in some cases are available in loose form for lower volume processing. In addition to a barrel for the wire, some open barrel terminals include an insulation support for applications for additional strain relief (from vibration or wire movement). Open barrel terminals normally are un-insulated but in some cases have a partially loaded insulator pod which is inserted over the terminal during the crimp process.

An example of this terminal type is the ETCO pre-insulated terminal series.

Crimping Methods

Hand Tools: A hand tool is used in low volume or prototype crimp applications. Tooling in a hand tool can be fixed and non-removable from the hand tool frame or can be removable. Crimp dies are available for open barrel and closed barrel terminals A reliable method of crimping wire to terminals with good repeatability. As volumes increase, repeated processing of terminals with hand tools can cause strain on an operator.

Bench Top Crimping: Crimping terminals with bench top crimping equipment provides moderate volume processing of loose piece and reel mounted terminals.

With loose piece terminals, the terminal and wire are hand loaded to a crimp nest and the operator cycles the press using a foot pedal or palm button.

Wezag CS200 Carpenter Accu-Crimp 62

Reel mounted terminals are processed using a crimp press and applicator. The applicator has a mechanical or pneumatic feed which positions the terminal on the crimp anvil. The operator presses a foot pedal and the crimp press cycles, forming the terminal over the wire and advancing the next terminal for further processing. A wide range of applications can be processed with bench top crimping equipment by the utilization of different press tonnages and applicators/die sets (fixed and quick change).

Automated Crimp Processing: Automated processing adds a wire cut and strip element to the crimp process. The most basic form is the stripper-crimper which adds a wire stripping unit to a bench crimp press to strip the end of the wire and presenting the wire to the crimp nest for crimping.

Automated crimp centers process the wire from its source in a barrel or reel, cut and strip the wire to length and present it to a crimp press for crimping. Reel fed applicators are the same as the bench top type. In the case of loose piece terminals, a vibratory bowl is used to orient the terminals and present to the crimp press for crimp processing.

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An example of an automated processing crimp center is the Megomat Primo XLT .

Manual to Automated Crimp, a Migration Path

As volumes increase, the need to automated also increases. On occasion, the increase is dramatic, requiring a greater step through the automation migration path. But normally the increase is controlled and slower so migration can take a multi step approach over time.

Hand Tool to Bench Top Migration: Migrating from a hand tool to power assisted bench top crimping requires a bench top crimping platform like the Accu-Crimp 62 or electric powered CS200 from Wezag Tools (both pictured above).

Heavy Duty Applications use higher tonnage to provide the power needed toprocess large terminals. The Wezag UP60 is pneumatic powered and provides over 7 tons of crimp force.

Non-Fixed hand tool die sets may be removed and compatible with bench top crimping units. This reduces the overall cost of the migration from hand tools to powered bench top equipment.

Bench Top to Automated Process Migration: Migrating from a bench top to automated processing machine like the Primo XLT or Uno multi-station machines is simple and straightforward. Mini style applicators used in a bench press application as pictured above can be mounted directly from a bench top press to the press on the automation system. Some applications require a different feed cam to feed the terminal on the press downstroke to allow for the robotic arm to swing into position with no interference from the terminal.

However, in the case of loose piece terminals, separate presses with integrated vibratory bowl fed systems may be required as they are not a standard set up on an automated machine.

Loose Piece to Reel Mounted terminal Migration: Converting from loose piece processing to reel fed terminals requires a crimp press and applicator as described above. The first step is determining the compatible terminal on reel equivalent. If a quick change mini applicator can be used, then the crimp press can be quickly changed from one terminal type to another simply by switching out the terminal applicator.

Crimp Process Validation and Control

Assuring an adequate quality and repeatable crimp and crimp process is common among all crimping methods. Non Destructive and Destructive crimp testing is used as pre-process and in-process validation methods. For more information on crimp quality process and validation, please refer to our three part series which can be found on our News Channel: Part One (crimp validation), Part Two (In Process Crimp Monitoring) and Part Three (Machine Process Capability and Calibration).

Wire Process Specialties has over 30 years of experience in processing of wire and cable including crimp technology. Connect Your Way to WPS. Our vision is to help our customers reduce processing costs and increase production efficiency.

Rotary vs V Blade Wire Stripping.

November 8, 2012 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Carpenter Manufacturing One comment

Wire stripping is a mechanical insulation separation process which can be performed by various methods. Two of the most common methods are Rotary Blade and V Blade. This article will outline these two methods, the advantages and drawbacks.

Rotary Blade.

A wire stripper with a rotary blade has one or two blades centered around an opening that the wire is pushed through. A wire guide sized to the wire OD ensures the wire does not rotate in an oblong fashion and cause damage to the inner conductors. The blades are adjusted to match the ID of the wire without nicking the inner conductors. During processing, the blades close around the wire and rotate to slit the jacket. A number of revolutions may be required to separate the insulation slug from the wire. This depends on the thickness and insulation type.

The rotary blades provide a very clean shoulder on the insulation. The rotary action of the blades also twists the stands of single conductor stranded wire, which helps in the insertion of the wire to a terminal block or PC board hole prior to wave soldering. Non concentric wire can be problematic and cause less than desirable results in nicked strands or jagged separation of the insulation. Below is the operation of the Carpenter 72C which shows the action of the rotary blade to strip wire.

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V Blade.

The V blade configuration provides good quality wire stripping of a large range of wire cross sections. This blade style is used on bench top single process wire strippers, automated cut/strip machines and fully automated work centers such as the Schaefer Megomat Primo XLT. Adjusting a V blade wire stripper is fast and changeover to a different wire takes only a few seconds. The angle of a V blade is typically 90 degrees. This angle is generally accepted as the best providing optimum overall results on a wide rage of wire sizes. Narrow entry angles such as 30 or 60 degree are also used but would be deployed on specific applications. The V blade strips the wire at four points and not the whole surface as a rotary blade does. Special configurations like the Lakes patented Uni-V blade adds a secondary angle which provides more contact to the blade.

Other V blade configurations are full radius and tangent radius V. The blade illustrated above is full radius blade for a Carpenter Compu-Strip 97A. This blade is sized for a specific wire cross section. Adjacent wire sizes cannot be stripped with a radius V blade.

The illustration above shows the Tangent radius (Lakes Precision TA-V). The entry angle lines meet the arc at a tangent point. This type of blade, when closed, presents a diamond shaped edge profile.Advantages: By adjusting cutter head shut height, ( if insulation material and wall thickness allow), you can process
adjacent wire sizes with the same blade, or you could compensate for off-center wire extrusions.

The video below illustrates the operation of a 90 degree V blade in a Carpenter 77E heavy duty wire stripper.

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The V blade profile with its variations can process a large variety of wire sizes and insulation types. The four point contact on the 90 degree V blade provides a lesser quality shoulder than the rotary but can be offset by the use of a full or tangent radius V blade.

Wire Process Specialties has over three decades of experience providing wire processing solutions. How can we help you optimize your production processes with a component or processing equipment solution? Connect Your Way to WPS today to begin the dialogue and the path to lower processing costs and higher production efficiency.

Processing Options for Transformer Manufacturing.

July 12, 2012 wireprocess Application Illustrations, Applitek, Carpenter Manufacturing, Judco Mfg Comments Off

Wire Process Specialties serves many industries that require assembly processes for electrical and electronics. One industry that WPS has served for a number of years is in Transformers and Magnetics. WPS supplies a multiple of solutions for the processing of magnet wire and coil winding from simple wire end processing to complex automation for transformer assembly.

Magnet Wire Stripping

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The Carpenter Magnet Wire Stripper series provide cost effective methods to remove the enamel from magnet wire. Models include the conical wheel 88F shown above for stripping ultra-fine wire down to 48 awg, the 27F with a collet stripping head and available extension wand and the 14B for heavy duty round and rectangular wire.

Material Cutting

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The Compu-Cut 42B is a heavy duty cutter for a multitude of uses. Cutting heat shrink, pvc and fibreglass tube as well as wire and irregular shaped material can be processed with the 42B. The 42B is part of the Compu-Cut machine series which includes the 33 and 36A models.

All consumable and spare parts for Carpenter machines are available through WPS. For more information on the Carpenter Compu-Cut machines and Magnet wire stripping line Connect Your Way to WPS or visit wireprocess.com/carpenter

Heat Shrink Tube Processing

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The heat gun has been a standard method of processing heat shrink for decades. The Judco Focus Lite line is a cost effective method of processing heat shrink of various sizes. The energy efficient halogen bulbs operate on demand for fast and efficient shrinking of heat shrink tube. Several models are available to shrink tube from 5/8″ to 1.5″ OD to 15.5″ long. Connect Your Way to WPS or visit wireproces.com/Judco for more information.

Other Processing Options

Applicators and crimping presses for reel fed terminals, terminals and connectors, quality validating and monitoring systems for crimping, wire marking, wire cut and strip equipment for stranded and multi-conductor wire.

Connect Your Way to WPS to discuss your assembly processes for your products. We have over three decades of experience serving our valued customers from coast to coast.

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