F-Crimp is a type of solderless electrical
crimp connection
An electrical crimp is a type of solderless electrical connection.
Crimp connectors are typically used to terminate stranded wire. The benefits of crimping over soldering and wire wrapping include:
* A well-engineered and well-executed crimp is ...
. It is not related to the
F connector
The F connector (also F-type connector) is a coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" terrestrial television, cable television and universally for satellite television and cable modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or with RG-59/U c ...
common in
RF equipment.
It is sometimes referred to as ''open-barrel'', which is technically a more general term including crimp types such as ''Weather Pack'' and ''Metri Pack''.
F-Crimp is a more mechanically robust crimp connection compared to the common barrel-crimp type readily available at retail locations (Radio Shack, Home Depot, ''etc.''). It also has an optional second crimp section that crimps to the insulation, providing strain relief. Because of these characteristics, automobiles use F-Crimp almost exclusively. F-Crimp was devised to eliminate the need for soldered connections—crimping can be preferred to soldering in mass production because it is easier to reproduce reliable connections. These connections, when made with ratcheting application tooling, provide a solderless, "gas-tight" connection. F-Crimp connections are never soldered as application of solder can lead to fracturing of the wire conductor.
The term F-Crimp was originally coined by AMP Incorporated (now
TE Connectivity
TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...
), however terminals of this style are currently manufactured by multiple companies. Crimpers are available from multiple sources: manufacturers of the connectors typically offer industrial crimp devices for high volume production, and specialized hand tools companies such as
Ideal
Ideal may refer to:
Philosophy
* Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals
* Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato
Mathematics
* Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considere ...
, Eclipse and Greenlee (formerly Paladin) offer dies for hand crimpers. For instance, Ideal die #30-586 and Paladin die #2033 are designed for open barrel / F-Crimp connectors. Non-AMP crimpers are available in "ratcheting" ("Certi-Crimp") and non-ratcheting versions, but only ratcheting types are suitable for production applications, with non-ratcheting types being suitable for occasional, or "field" repairs. Non-ratcheted crimps must ''never'' be used in "mission critical" applications.
References
{{Reflist
External links
TE Connectivity homepage*
AMP drawing 114-35000 Rev. A dated 1975, ''Wire Preparation and Crimp Inspection Guide''detailing correct crimp results for F-Crimp
*
TE Connectivity Application Specification 114-2036 Rev. F dated 2012, ''FASTON™ Straight Receptacles with “F-” Crimp Feature'' also illustrates industrial powered crimping machines
;Professional hand tool options
Ideal Tools Homepage
Paladin Tools Homepage*
Paladin die #2033 for F-crimp / open-barrel connectorsThomas & Betts (T&B) tools homepage*
T&B Sta-Kon brand crimper for 0.1 mm2 - 1.5 mm2 F-crimps (German)*
DigiKey part #90157-1-ND / Tyco part #90157-1 industrial crimper
;DIY alternatives
Electrical connectors