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Assembling tiny insulation-displacement connectors

E

eromlignod

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi guys:

We are trying to put together a prototype that involves little JST
insulation-displacement connectors to fit onto the ends of ribbon
cables. They are the "ZR" type.

The tooling to assemble these is astronomical in price. I wouldn't
mind paying it if we intended to do the eventual production here, but
this is just a prototype machine and we have over 100 connectors to
assemble. We did a couple just by cramming each wire into its slot
with a small screwdriver, but this is tedious and mangles the
connector a bit, though it does conduct and seems to work fine.

Is there a better way of manually assembling these?

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Don
 
D

Den

Jan 1, 1970
0
eromlignod said:
Hi guys:

We are trying to put together a prototype that involves little JST
insulation-displacement connectors to fit onto the ends of ribbon
cables. They are the "ZR" type.

The tooling to assemble these is astronomical in price. I wouldn't
mind paying it if we intended to do the eventual production here, but
this is just a prototype machine and we have over 100 connectors to
assemble. We did a couple just by cramming each wire into its slot
with a small screwdriver, but this is tedious and mangles the
connector a bit, though it does conduct and seems to work fine.

Is there a better way of manually assembling these?

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Don


Just an idea - are there any OEM cables available that you can buy and hack
or cut in half?
 
R

Rich Webb

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi guys:

We are trying to put together a prototype that involves little JST
insulation-displacement connectors to fit onto the ends of ribbon
cables. They are the "ZR" type.

The tooling to assemble these is astronomical in price. I wouldn't
mind paying it if we intended to do the eventual production here, but
this is just a prototype machine and we have over 100 connectors to
assemble. We did a couple just by cramming each wire into its slot
with a small screwdriver, but this is tedious and mangles the
connector a bit, though it does conduct and seems to work fine.

Is there a better way of manually assembling these?

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Doesn't look like the old standby "press in a PanaVise" trick would work
with these.

I'd ditch the ZR and go with ZH for the prototype runs.

Otherwise, try making a tool from a sacrificial connector. Clip and
insert shim stock into the wire channels and then fill the body of the
connector with epoxy. To build a connector, set the wires in place and
push in with an elastomer (thumb?) just until they're held into the U.
Line up the tool and press.
 
E

eromlignod

Jan 1, 1970
0
Doesn't look like the old standby "press in a PanaVise" trick would work
with these.

I'd ditch the ZR and go with ZH for the prototype runs.

Otherwise, try making a tool from a sacrificial connector. Clip and
insert shim stock into the wire channels and then fill the body of the
connector with epoxy. To build a connector, set the wires in place and
push in with an elastomer (thumb?) just until they're held into the U.
Line up the tool and press.



Is that what the tooling usually is? Is it just parallel blades fit
or machined into a block, or is there more to it? Is there a general
rule of thumb for how thick the blades should be?

Don
 
R

Rich Webb

Jan 1, 1970
0
Is that what the tooling usually is? Is it just parallel blades fit
or machined into a block, or is there more to it? Is there a general
rule of thumb for how thick the blades should be?

From the looks of the connector, some variation on parallel blades would
have to be used. The real deal may have flared leading edges between the
actual IDC posts to help keep the wires centered. The working height
would also be by design rather than by guess.

I'd personally still go with the ZH crimp connectors. Digikey looks to
have the sockets and all of the housing sizes. If you don't have the
right die set, or one close enough for prototyping, then (I can't
believe I'm saying this) needle nose pliers could be pressed into
service. A not quite right, pliers crimped connection may be more
reliable than a similarly not quite right IDC.
 
E

Eeyore

Jan 1, 1970
0
eromlignod said:
Hi guys:

We are trying to put together a prototype that involves little JST
insulation-displacement connectors to fit onto the ends of ribbon
cables. They are the "ZR" type.

The tooling to assemble these is astronomical in price. I wouldn't
mind paying it if we intended to do the eventual production here, but
this is just a prototype machine and we have over 100 connectors to
assemble. We did a couple just by cramming each wire into its slot
with a small screwdriver, but this is tedious and mangles the
connector a bit, though it does conduct and seems to work fine.

Is there a better way of manually assembling these?

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Are you talking about that 0.025" pitch cable ? Or similar.

We had the supplier make them up and test for us. Fantastic stuff when
you need the density.

Graham
 
E

Eeyore

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rich said:
A not quite right, pliers crimped connection may be more
reliable than a similarly not quite right IDC.

Don't remind me of crimping with pliers. A certain company couldn't be
bothered to buy the proper £60 tool and boy, did the product return in big
numbers. Of course that gained it a bad reputation so it never sold as it
should have. And the production manager came form TEKTRONIX !

Graham
 
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