Crimp terminals are widely used in electrical engineering, and are essential in the toolbox of electricians and electrical installers. But even when you're working with electrical devices and power cables yourself, crimp terminals can come in handy. But what are crimp terminals? Read about it in this blog! 

A crimp terminal consists of a connector made of brass or copper, with (in the case of insulated crimp terminals) a sleeve made of PVC. This sleeve is blue, yellow or red. A crimp terminal is used to connect cables to electrical installations. 

A cable is attached to the round end of the connector, and possibly the sleeve. The other end of the crimp terminal is connected to an electrical installation. Crimp terminals are therefore used to make a safe electrical connection between a cable and an electrical installation, or another connection. The sleeve of insulated crimp terminals prevents short circuits from occurring. 

In principle, you crimp a crimp terminal 1, 2 or 4 times, depending on the conductor cross-section. You always crimp the crimp terminal from the connection point of the crimp terminal (so from the ring in the case of a ring crimp terminal). Below you can see how often you need to crimp a crimp terminal per conductor cross-section: 

The maximum current strength that a crimp terminal can handle is indicated by the color of the crimp terminal. Each crimp terminal color corresponds to a strength: 

• Red – 0 to 16 amperes
• Blue – 17 to 25 amperes
• Yellow – 26 to 40 amperes

In principle, there are two types of crimp terminals: insulated crimp terminals and uninsulated crimp terminals. Insulated crimp terminals contain a PVC sleeve that prevents short circuits. Non-insulated crimp terminals lack this sleeve. Non-insulated crimp terminals are only available as ring crimp terminals. Insulated crimp terminals are available in many variants. 

In our range you'll find four different pliers for crimp terminals: 

• WKK - Crimp terminal crimping pliers - Steel - For insulated crimp terminals from 0.5 – 6.0 mm²
• WKK - Crimp terminal crimping pliers - Carbon steel - For insulated crimp terminals from 0.5 – 6.0 mm²
• WKK - Crimping pliers for non-insulated crimp terminals, 0.5 – 16 mm²
• WKK - Crimping pliers with 3 interchangeable profiles - for wire end sleeves, insulated crimp terminals and non-insulated crimp terminals

Which pliers you choose depends on several factors. The most important factor is the diameter of the crimp terminal. If you want to crimp a crimp terminal larger than 6 mm², you need the crimping pliers for crimp terminals from 0.5 – 16 mm².

Do you always want to have the right pliers for all possible applications on hand? Then choose the crimping pliers with the interchangeable profiles.

View our complete range of crimp terminals here.