Warning: I've been crimping D-sub pins wrong for maybe three years

I was helping a new guy on a King Air panel swap last week, and he asked why my crimps looked 'puffy' compared to the manual. I pulled out the old crimper I got from a retiring tech and compared it to the spec sheet for the actual pins we use. Turns out the die set is for a different series, and I've been slightly over-crimping every single one, weakening the strain relief. I felt like a total rookie. Anyone else ever find out a basic tool was just wrong for the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarahart14d ago

Honestly, that sounds like a tool problem, not a skill problem. A lot of those old crimpers get passed down with the wrong dies still in them. The real rookie move would be not checking the new guy's work at all. Finding a mistake like that is how the whole shop learns.

wyatt_sullivan4014d agoTop Commenter

See this everywhere, people blaming the person when the system set them up to fail.