Stein...your opinion please:

[noelf]

I have the SAT-001 Ratcheting Crimper Frame and the SAT-030 Insulated Terminal Die. This is the Eclipse "Lunar" crimper and the die set is Eclipse p/n 300-058.

The die set has the Red / Blue / Yellow paint dots to identify the crimp terminal / wire size for the respective insulated crimp terminal sizes. The die openings are not symmetrical...that is the "wire insertion side" is different from the "other " side of the die.

My question is: Which side of the die do I use as the "wire insertion" side? I have tried both ways and I can't tell which is preferred / correct for this particular die set. (Some of the other terminal crimp tools that I have are are uniform, and some are only intended for ring terminals and have a "feature" that only allow the crimp terminal to be inserted into the tool in one direction).

Again, I'm not sure what the intent of the non-symmetrical die is. Oh...I have checked the manufacturers web site as well as a number of others. I did not find any specific instructions on this particular die set.

[SteinAir]

Hi,

Any crimpers worth using on Aviation Terminals will have non-symmetrical dies. The "Bowtie" shaped cavity is for the insulation crimp, and the "half moon/oval" cavity is for crimping the conductor. You'll also notice that that the cavity (half moon) for the conductor has a witness mark in the cavity to leave an identified mark on that particular part of the crimp. This ensures and identifies a proper crimp (leaves a little dimple in the terminal).

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Stein

[noelf]

Way to go Stein!! Thank you for the answer...I understand what you are saying.

[Bob Hoffman]

Stein,
I'm having a problem trying to envisioning this.
The ratcheting jaws on my crimper have color dots to match the proper wire gague,
does the dot side go to the wire side or the end side ?? Because (my eyes are not what they use to be) I can't see a difference in the crimping jaws.
My crimper comes with replacable jaws (depending on what your crimping)
if that helps any.
Thanks
Bob

[noelf]

Having just gone through this...

If you look at the SteinAir web site, under the tools link, you will find a picture of the Crimper and die set that we are talking about in the above posts. For the SAT-030 die set (this is for the insulated terminal types), the wires do go into the die from the painted dot side. BUT, this may only be true for this particular die set.

The reference to the "bow tie" is a very clever description of the open area of the die that can be seen if you close the die and look closely at the die...with no terminals in the jaws. If you are a computer geek, I would describe the area as a reverse video bow tie shape. Close the dies and look at each side closely. At this point, only you can tell if they are the same or different.

Another clue that Stein gave is to look at the inside area of each half of the die set. If it is (his), the one we are talking about (for aviation use?), you will see some little dimples (pits) in each of the die cavities. These pits will leave little raised bumps in the area of the wire crimp of the insulated terminal, and serves the purpose of a visual confirmation that the terminal has been properly crimped.

If you are using some other brand of crimper, all of the above may not apply. The ratcheting crimper being discussed here has available a huge assortment of die types; the bow tie type as discussed, and a non-bow tie type that is intended for non-insulated terminals. The latter has symmetrical dies.

Stein, I really do try and pay attention in class...