Some sensors and actuators that you want to use with the kitsi kit may not come with connectors. This makes it difficult to connect them to either the Breadboard or MotorDriver Block. In this article we will show how to add connectors to cables using a crimper.
Materials
- Crimper
- Most crimpers come with a few different sized dies which allows for a wider range of wire gauges to be crimped.
- In this tutorial I am using this crimper. It has a few different dies that fit wire gauges that are commonly found in electronics.
- If your sensor or motor uses cables that are significantly thicker you may need a different crimper.
- Either male or female crimps.
- In this tutorial we will be using female crimps since we are connecting to the MotorDriver Block which has male pins. Both crimps are used in the same way since the crimping section is the same.
- Male: If you are connecting to the Breadboard block you will use the male crimps. The crimps I am using come from here.
- Female: If you are connecting to the MotorDriver block you will use the female crimps. The crimps I am using come from here.
- Crimp housings
- Crimp housings come in many different configurations. They come in multiple rows and columns, but in this case I just used single crimp housings.
- The crimp housings that I am using can be found here.
- The sensor or motor you are trying to connect
How to crimp
- First you will need to strip the insulation off of the wires before crimping them. The size of your crimp will dictate the amount of insulation that needs to be stripped off. From the picture below you should be able to see that the crimp has two sets of wings. One set is to make a secure connection to the insulation for strain relief. The second set is to connect to the conductor to make an electrical connection.
When stripping the wires, strip the length of the conductor crimp zone.
- Start with the crimper in an open position and squeeze it until it clicks. Continue closing the crimper until the crimp fits snugly into the die without falling out. The wings should be facing into the hollow of the die.
- Ensure that the end of the insulation crimp zone lines up flush with the edge of the crimper.
- Now with the crimp held in place insert the cable into the crimp. Make sure to align the cable so that the bare copper is in the correct conductive zone of the crimp.
- Once the cable is in position firmly squeeze the crimper until it releases. You can see below that the bottom section of the crimp is firmly holding onto the insulation and the top section of the crimp is making contact with the bare cable.
- Once your cables are crimped they can be inserted into their housings. Both the male and female pins can use the same housings. Both have raised section that allows for the housing to latch on.
To insert the crimps align the latch with the cut out in the housing and push the cable in until you hear a click.
Now With the connectors completed you will be able to insert them into either the Breadboard or MotorDriver Block.
