Maximize Productivity and Save Costs with the Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimp Applicator

How tooling can make or break your design

Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimp Applicator (Image Source: Molex)

Congratulations, you’ve found the Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Connector that meets all your design criteria. You’ve assessed the correct current rating, voltage rating, circuit size, engagement force, wire AWG capabilities, configurations, termination method, and safety features. In short, this connector is perfect for your application. Next, you need the correct tooling — if the terminal isn't crimped onto the wire correctly, your connector won’t perform optimally, and all your design hours could be wasted!

Proper use of tooling equipment is not only essential for achieving a high-quality electrical connection but is also often required to meet many of the industry standards and to maintain the connector manufacturer’s product warranty. It also helps prevent unnecessary downtime due to operator error or equipment misuse.

Faster production cycles without sacrificing quality assurance

Time and repeatable precision are two major crimping factors that can affect productivity and ultimately your bottom line. Ensuring high-accuracy and the consistent quality of crimp terminations is critical to capitalize on the performance of your chosen connector, and maximizing production output is vital for optimal productivity and profits.

At Molex, we have a history of designing and producing industry-leading crimp tools, and the precision-machined Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimp Applicator, available through DigiKey, is no exception.

Let’s look at three key areas where the Molex Mini-Fit Double-Crimp Applicator can significantly boost productivity and reduce costs:

Challenge #1: Double-wire crimping errors and quality issues

If your application requires the crimping of terminals with double wires, it’s critical that the appropriate applicator tooling is employed. Without this, customers can experience crimping errors which reduce their connector’s optimal power performance and result in costly procedures to rectify quality issues downstream.

Solution: Specialized double-wire crimping applicator

Molex Double Crimp Applicator tooling is designed specifically for the job of single terminal double-wire crimping. The fast throughput and high-repeatability of the robust Mini-Fit Jr. Crimp Applicator meets the needs of customers requiring the advantages of single-terminal double-wire crimping for a diverse range of applications across many industries. The applicator is designed to deliver high-volume, precision double-wire crimping with single Mini-Fit Jr. terminals in 18 to 22 AWG cable sizes.

Challenge #2: Ultra-fine crimp height precision

More than 90 percent of crimping problems faced by customers occur during equipment set-up, where precision is paramount.

Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimped Terminals (Image Source: Molex)

Crimp height, which is the cross-sectional height of the conductor crimp section after it has been crimped, is the most important characteristic of a good crimp. A crimp height that is too small or too large will not compress the wire strands properly, causing excessive voids in the crimp section because there is not enough metal-to-metal contact between the wire strands and the metal of the terminal.

Likewise, if the insulation crimp is too small or too large the intended strain relief function and wire flex can be compromised which may overstress the metal.

Molex provides the crimp height for each wire size for which the terminal was designed. The correct crimp height range or tolerance for a given wire may be as small as 0.002". With a specification this tight, verifying that the applicator is set up correctly is critical for achieving a good crimp.

Solution: Fine-adjust crimp and insulation height applicator

Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Double Wire Crimp Applicator achieves ultra-fine crimp-height targets with little effort by adjusting in increments of 0.15mm (.0006") for conductor crimp height and 0.063mm (.0025") for insulation height.

The applicator delivers repeatable accuracy of crimp precision throughout the production run to remove crimp-height errors and minimize costly quality procedures and delays.

Challenge #3: Minimize machine downtime to maximize productivity

Set-up and changeover delays when crimping multiple different terminals can lead to significant machine downtime with reduced productivity and profitability.

Quick and easy positioning of crimp applicators on the press is essential for maximizing output, but must not be at the expense of positioning accuracy since the correct set-up of tools is vital for achieving a high-quality crimp.

Solution: Faster applicator set-up and adjustments on the press with quick-change technology

The Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimp Applicator is designed to allow height, track or feed adjustments without the need to remove the applicator from the press to deliver time-saving precision set-up and changeovers. Additionally, swift punch removal with the push of a button allows for quick and easy tooling changes. Furthermore, separate crimp-height adjustment rings allow users to quickly adjust the conductor or insulation crimp heights independently of one another.

When multiple different terminals and wires require crimping, the time-saving set-up and changeover features of the Mini-Fit Jr. Double Crimp Applicator can result in significantly increased productivity and profitability.

Molex Application Tooling Services offer an unmatched level of customer service at no additional cost.

At Molex, we understand that customers purchasing our application tooling solutions from our distribution partners may not have tooling operating expertise. Therefore, even when you purchase an application through DigiKey, Molex offers a full range of technical support to help customers deliver the highest-quality crimp results and keep your operations running smoothly.