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Pull-off force of Crimped Connectors

High load testing of electrical crimp connector joints

Specification

Amphenol is a world leader in the design, manufacture and supply of high-performance interconnect systems. Among its key markets are military and aerospace, requiring the ultimate in quality and reliability for use in safety-critical and harsh environments. Amphenol already utilised Mecmesin products elsewhere in their organisation, however the load capacity of Amphenol’s own in-house equipment in the UK was such that components with pull-off forces greater than 5 kN had to be sub-contracted out for testing. To enable the tensile strength testing of larger crimped cable connectors at its UK site, a tensile tester capable of measuring higher loads was needed.

Loadcell-grip-connector

Solution

Mecmesin supplied a twin column universal testing machine, rated to 50 kN, together with three interchangeable loadcells, These were matched to the expected peak pull-off forces of the range of Amphenol’s connectors.. Tip: Measurement accuracy is optimised where the recorded value is closer to the full-scale capacity of the loadcell.

The main test standards followed are MIL-DTL-22520 and DEF-STAN 59-71, where crimp samples are tested to destruction, either as a means of calibrating the manufacturing crimp tools, or to gather data for developing new connector product ranges. Appropriate grips are vital to  allow the crimped contact to be freely pulled from the cable without distortion. The MultiTest 50-xt UTM is operated via a clear and easy-to-use touch screen interface, under software control to ensure that the test procedure is performed with reproducibility and repeatability. The motorised test stand guarantees that tensile load is applied at a constant speed , as per the MIL standard. The modern intuitive programme crries out calculations  on the test data to return essential information regarding the performance of the connector. The screen also gives a clear, immediate display of the force profile graph thereby providing valuable insight into the crimp’s failure modes and behaviour. Investment in the capability to perform high force tensile strength testing of crimp joints in-house has enabled Amphenol to identify quality issues much earlier and reduce cost by making adjustments to the production process, further demonstrating the company’s commitment to engineering and service excellence.

System

Testimonial

“Purchase of the MultiTest 50-xt has allowed us to extend the range of products we can test in-house and obtain more information about the failure mode of the samples.”

Erica Moore, Test and EHS Manager
Amphenol

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