D-sub crimping+connecting practice & choice of tools

Thread Starter

toiletmirror

Joined Jul 11, 2017
5
Hi all,

I'm involved in this project in school which involves rather high expenses, and before the ordered parts arrive, I'm tasked to purchase some stuff to practise before going hands-on playing around the expensive stuff.

So sometime tomorrow or the day after, I'm planning to go down to a part of the town where they sell really cheap electronics.

I'm planning to get some experience on connecting wires into a D-sub.

After watching some videos and stuff, I figured the steps are: Strip > Pin > Crimp > Connect, right?

So what I have are just a bunch of wires, so I need to buy a wire-stripper, some pins, crimping tool and the insertion tool.

I suppose wire strippers I could just select the cheapest... However I'd like to ask if the pins, crimping tool and insertion tool: Are there any specifications I need to know? Or they're generally all-purpose? As in I would just need to buy anyone I can find?

Why I'm asking is because the area I'm gonna go to sells cheap stuff... and the vendors there are notorious for hard-selling. I'm hoping to avoid the scenario where I'm clueless and end up buying overpriced equipment.

What I need are just for basic D-sub connectors (15-pin to be exact)

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Check the connectors you are getting. Often these come with a pin insertion AND a pin extraction tool. While these are plastic they should last a connector or two, meaning you can eventually build up a supply of these tools.

If you are not getting the tools then definitely buy some, and if plastic buy extras.

Strippers should have notches for each gauge, not the "adjustable" kind.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
After watching some videos and stuff, I figured the steps are: Strip > Pin > Crimp > Connect, right?
It depends on the type of connector you buy. Some use soldered connections; most are crimp varieties.

Some crimp varieties don't require a tool to insert/remove the pins from the connector; most do. I used some when I was wiring terminal connections in a computer room that only required needle nose pliers to insert/remove the pins, but they used a $300 crimping tool. I still have some of the pins, but can't remember if I had any connectors (it was 30 years ago).
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
Here are some examples of DB25 connectors I had laying around (DB15 will likely have the same variants):
Push down type that requires neither stripping or crimping:
db25FemalePushDown.jpg

DB25 solder:
db25Solder.jpg

DB25 soldered to PCB:
db25SolderBoard.jpg

Above connector showing wire attachment:
db25SolderBoardWires.jpg

Male crimp, requires insert/remove tool:
db25MaleCrimpTool2.jpg

Male pin inserted and removed with needle nose pliers (these used solid wire and required an expensive crimper):
malePinAnnot.jpg
Closeup of retainer portion:
closeupPin.jpg
 
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dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
There is a solder bridge that might have been caught when the tubing would not go all the way onto the pin.
As near as I can tell, that was an intentional connection. Heatshrink is overkill if the connections were made (stripped and soldered) correctly. Additionally, the connector shell prevents strain on the connections.

The connector for the male pins at the bottom could have up to 25 of them with the exposed parts. No one would ever think of putting heatshrink on them. There was no risk of shorting in a connector that was assembled properly.
 
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MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
I do not agree, especially with MS connectors in industrial shop floor applications, in any case overkill or not, for what it takes, I always like to do it this way.
That bridge looks like the normal RS232 bridge of 4-5 and in most cases also 6-8-20 for three wire communication.
Max.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
And I have picked up the habit from industrial supplied ready made cables which were constructed this way.
It is not like it takes that much extra effort?
Max.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
It is not like it takes that much extra effort?
If you sell a million widgets annually and save a couple dimes on each one, it adds up to a lot of money that makes it to the bottom line.

Chevrolet made millions by not using lock washers... In the 60's, we used to call them Cadillacs without lock washers.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
But I wasn't aware the op intended to make a 'million widgets' the intention was to advise him of good practices for personal projects.;)
Max..
 
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