Introduction to crimping pliers
Most of my crimping experience is with larger cables and terminals. When it came to repair or make the odd non critical smaller terminal i would attempt to compress with pliers and solder, not ideal.
Faced with the task of having to make and repair several different terminals for a 3D printer i realized the need to invest in a pair of suitable crimping pliers.
These terminals included 6 way female JST PH 2.0mm connectors for the stepper motors and 2/4way Mini PV (Also called Dupont) with a 2.54mm pitch for connection to a ramps 1.4 board.
When i searched for a specific JST PH crimper i came across the official WC-240 JST Crimper. At an eye watering £337.99 this was out of the question.
Official crimp pliers are available for every different type of connector and can be very expensive. I turned to find a pair of budget generic crimp pliers capable of handling 24AWG cable and the connectors above.
What is available and where?
After a short browse of generic crimp pliers i found the Engineer PA-09 Mirco connector pliers. Capable of crimping 80 different terminals 0f 1.25-2.5mm pitch and 32-20AWG cable, just the ticket.
The PA-09 micro connector pliers are 175mm long, carbon steel construction with a Elastomer (TPR) cushioned handle and are made in Japan.
This all sounded promising, without a local shop/supplier i found them listed on amazon at a very reasonable £39.99. *Available HERE.
Testing the PA-09 Crimping Pliers
After a very quick delivery, i put them straight to the test. Removing them from the Japanese text covered packing the quality is immediately noticeable.
They feel nice in the hand and the hinge mechanism is smooth with an adjustable screw
PA-09 Details 
Manual Page 1 
Manual Page 2
Following the instructions provided, i started with with the JST PH connector. Firstly inserting the striped wire into the crimp and crimping the conductor.
Secondly, re-positioned to the next size die and crimp the insulation.
Finally to get a smooth entry into the connector housing, i pressed the terminal between the end of the pliers jaws. Repeating the process for the other conductors.
For the Mini PV/Dupont connectors, just select the correct die and follow the same procedure. I found that helping hands(a stand with clamps) useful to hold the wire in place whilst carrying this out.
The Verdict
My overall opinion of the PA-09 is that they well made, good value and capable of making accurate and reliable crimps for many different terminals.
The versatility and cost of these crimp pliers will help save time from bodged terminals and money spent on made leads, a winning combination and a sure tool to turn to in the future.
Crimping larger cable and terminals?
If you need to crimp larger cable and terminals, the ENGINEER pa-21 is suitable for AWG28~AWG18 with 1.6mm, 1.9mm, 2.2mm & 2.5mm dies. Both variants are listed below.
I hope you found this useful, if you have any questions or would like to add to the above please leave a comment.
