Guide to crimp connectors on 3D printers - Take your wiring to the next level!

If you have any wiring to do on your 3D printer or other CNC machine, you are going to need to crimp the correct connectors. By request, this video goes over all of the types most regularly seen on these machines, the tools required and how to crimp them properly. Once you’ve done it the right way you’ll wonder how you ever managed in the past!

0:00 Introduction

0:44 What is crimping?

2:21 What is pitch?

2:58 Wire stripping tool

4:28 Heat shrink Terminals
You can also use the crimping section of the wire strippers for these connectors.

6:18 Ferrule/bootlace

7:57 Crimping tool for most of the following connectors

8:20 Dupont (2.54mm pitch)

11:06 JST-XH (2.5mm pitch)

12:33 Molex (2.54mm pitch)
Note: Like JST, there are a wide range of connectors in the ‘Molex’ family, so take care to get the right ones for your hardware.

13:39 JST-PH (2.00mm pitch)

14:53 Conclusion
These connectors are great for inline plugs, because they are polarised (can’t be plugged in backwards).

Other resources used:

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[TeachingTech]

Hello viewers! Some corrections:
- I've trimmed the few seconds that mention twisting wires. Plenty of feedback from people with expertise in this area advising not to.
- My naming of male and female JST ends were reversed.
- Also, another nice tip is to have the end of the stripped wire poke through the end of the ferrule and then trim it back flush after crimping.

[SplicesAndCelluloid]

These are the sort of things that once you start using them, you really come to question how you went without them for so long. They are just soooo much nicer than other way of doing it.

[klistada]

GODDAMMIT!!!! Why do I always stumble on the perfect video explaining everything 10 minutes AFTER I've finished the job.

[greaser]

I crimped a *lot* of pins in the almost 10 years I worked in a factory. The one observation I would make is: good strippers are a must-have.
In strict terms: the *end* of the insulation must be visible in the gap between the strain relief crimp and the conductor crimp, and all the strands must be visible both sides of the conductor crimp (the ends can't be too long, and none should be missing). Proper calibration of the crimp tool is essential, your QA guy would use a sample of the wire & pins being used to do a "pull-off test" to make sure the crimp could withstand the specified tension - too loose and the wire pulls out of the conductor crimp, too tight and the strands break because they are over-crushed.
In theory, a good crimp will be gas-tight. :)

[LabRatJason]

"Buy the right tools and you'll never go back." Truer words were never spoken!

[halsaresnowpaw]

Very helpful. Couple of observations though.

The JST connectors that are soldered onto the board are male connectors, not female.

You can make polarized inline DuPont connectors by swapping one pin with the opposite type of pin in each connector. So for a two pin connecter, each one would have one male and one female pin. For three wire ones, one plug would have two female and one male (on either end - not in the middle) and other other one a matching (2 males one female).

When making any plug with an exposed pin, do not have that pin carrying any current/power. This prevents possibility of shorts with the exposed pin.

[sulecen]

Thank you for this, as someone who's very new to the electrical side of things, and intimidated by it, this is an AMAZING resource. The fact that you don't assume any prior knowledge is SO helpful, being a total beginner, so again thank you!

[DeKamme]

Even after about 1.5y of 3d printing, you still educate me on topics like this. There's just too much choice, you cut down the possible options and give a clear recommendation. Without pushing it through. Keep it up!

[andyflyprint]

As i learned in an electrical Company in Germany its not aloud to twist the wire because you increase the diameter that can cause lose connetors. Just gently allign the wire and crimp

[JageeAgain]

This is the very best video teaching crimping. You included photos and detailed descriptions of the several connector types. Perfect.

[MarinusMakesStuff]

I wish this video existed ten years ago when I was building my first 3D printer and didn't have any guides. Now I own all these connectors and a great crimping tool, and I have to say it's super mindful and therapeutic to make your own crimp connectors onto the ends of the wires. And it's fun to be able to make every strand of wire the correct length, and to wire it all up perfectly. Looking back at the printers I made ten years ago, it's crazy to see how I fixed cabling issues back then. Cutting off the connectors with a little extra wire so I could cut them to length and then solder back the wires in order to have a connector on the end.

[Hopeinformer]

I've been using the wrong crimping pliers. That explains why my connections are either crushed or falling off after crimping them. Thank you for this great help

[RichardGroulx]

Perfect timing! I literally just received my connector kit and plan on starting wiring my Voron 2.4 tonight. Thanks!

[robmills]

Great video thanks. One tip - when stripping insulation leave on end of wire then twist as you remove it, this gives a tighter twist. Forty years making looms/harnesses.

[warrenlucier]

Great tutorial on electrical pins and how to crimp them. I didn't know how to figure out what size female pins, but now I know it's the center to center pitch and not the width of the pin. I'm working on a 2013 Toyota Tacoma and was trying to find new pins, so I can install wiring and so far I've gotten nowhere with it, but now I may.

[Noah_Bisch]

This is the exact video I needed for working on my iron man cosplay wiring!!! I needed to learn the connectors, pros, cons, and purposes and that is what this video did

[muyiwaolatunji]

Thank you, this is one of the best tutorial videos on crimping tool usage. A key takeaway for me was how to sit JST and Dupont the connectors in the crimping tool. This step is critical to a successful crimp.

[TrojanHorse]

Thanks to Jason Friedland for requesting this video, it was very informative and interesting, thanks Michael

[Namrepus]

Thank you! I've been trying to get information on this stuff for months and no one has explained it beyond "Just connect some X/Y/Z to the wires and you're done." No details on what to look for, how to crimp, or what to buy. Thank you so much for this!

[ydoweneedapass]

Very Very much appreciated! very thorough, ive been researching connectors for the past week and your timing could not have been more perfect.