Crimp force monitors, or more appropriately called crimping process variation monitors, detect process variations that can be directly correlated to crimp defects, tool wear, incorrect alignment or adjustment, etc. that might result in defective parts, accumulation of unnecessary scrap, and rework. To date, there have been few technological innovations in the wire processing industry that have proven to be as effective as crimp process monitors, in fact most wire harness manufacturers now mandate them. 

How it Works

The OES CFM series of crimp force monitors utilize a Piezo-strain sensor bolted to the frame of the crimping press or a machine specific model of PBT Sensor™ technology to capture a “signature” of the relative force of the crimp stroke over the time of the cycle. On stable equipment, this signature is highly repeatable, so that any variance in the process will be reflected in a change in the signature.

The patented analysis of each production curve against a learned reference curve of a known good crimp, allows the monitor to provide a ‘pass’ for cycles within tolerance or a ‘fail’ output for cycles outside of tolerance.

Note: Crimp force monitors detect process variations; they should not be considered the sole solution for every potential failure mode in the process of wire stripping, seal application, and terminal crimping. See the WireWorx products for full line of solutions.

Two models of crimp force monitors are available from OES:

• CFM4100/4200 series of stand alone systems are ideal for retrofit upgrading of existing automatic equipment or use on bench press applications
• CFM2100 crimp monitor for OEM integration into automatic wire processing equipment; such as the new Artos CR.11, which features the CFM2100 along with PBT Sensor™ Ram Adapter technology.  View video.