Crimp

Crimping is a way of joining two materials (usually metal pipes or sheet metals) by pressing them together using a force applied by a crimping tool. The resulting join is a crimp. There are numerous applications for crimping in construction including for central heating pipework, ductwork, rainwater pipes and electrical wiring.

Metal rainwater pipes or ducting pipes can be crimped together by crimping around the full circumference of one of the pipe ends. This acts to change the circular profile of the pipe into a wavy profile (forming a ‘male’ end) thereby reducing the pipe diameter to allow it to be inserted into the end of an uncrimped pipe (‘female’ end). Pushing the pipes together can be sufficient for joining some types of duct and rainwater pipes. Although the join will not usually be waterproof, it can be sufficient if the crimped pipe faces in the direction of the water flow.

Two lengths of copper water pipe may be crimped together quickly and effectively using a crimping tool and copper joining piece. The tool applies sufficient pressure to crimp the joining piece around the pipe ends to form a watertight seal. The process is beneficial as it can be faster, easier and less messy than traditional pipe soldering.

In making electrical connections, two wires can be securely joined together using male and female bullet connectors that have been crimped around their respective wires. Other applications include crimping to attach Cat 6 Ethernet plugs onto Ethernet cables and so on.

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