Molex SPOX vs KK

[Newmarket]

I'm ready to pick a Molex KK 254 header, housing and crimp combination.

@Pars I'm going to take you advice and get the crimp tool you suggested and @Newmarket I'm following your advice where you mentioned you use the housing with polarising ribs. So far I have decided on these parts

Header
View attachment 120597
https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/22272021

Housing
View attachment 120598
https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/22013027

However for the crimp I see a lot of options, see the "mates with" sections here https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/22013027#mates-with-use-with

I think not getting the reel is the best option before I will have to cut each one, but in terms of the other options I really don't have a clue. Can someone recommend a sensible option?

I use 08-50-0032

https://uk.farnell.com/molex/08-50-0032/contact-socket-22awg-crimp/dp/2424111

Note that the Farnell page says 24 - 30 AWG but the datasheet has 22 - 39 AWG

Might be interested in this on the tooling aspect:

https://spellfoundry.com/2013/04/06/a-comparison-of-molex-kk-0-1-crimp-tools/

 

[exlabs]

Thanks @Pars and @Newmarket, it seems 08-50-0032 are a bit cheaper. I'll get a few of each type and have a play around.

Interesting comparison of the different tools. I have my official Molex SPOX tool coming in the post. I'll be using this for 99% of the work, so thought I would get the cheaper tool to play around with - you know other people do some knitting while watching TV but I do crimping.

 

[Pars]

For the crimp tool I recommended for hobbyist use, I crimp these connectors in two steps: 1) the wire crimp, and 2) the insulation crimp. It appears that the official Molex tool will do both at once. I never tried that with the tool that I use. I also do have the official Molex/Waldom hand crimp tools (non-ratcheting), which are just simple crimping pliers (and relatively cheap). I think the ratchet crimper from Amazon that I listed does a better job. Certainly not as good as the $$$ Molex tool, but as I said, this is for hobbyist use and not commercial production. Hard to justify spending the money for my uses, particularly since I assume it only does KK 2.54.

 

[exlabs]

Very happy with the SPOX combination for crimping 18AWG.

Using the tool took a bit of getting use to, but I got the hang of it after about 10 tries. Exposing the right amount of copper is important to get a good crimp.