Crimping tool

Updated: 08/02/2020 by Computer Hope

A crimping tool is a device used to conjoin two pieces of metal by deforming one or both of them to hold each other. The result of the tool's work is called a crimp. An example of crimping is affixing a connector to the end of a cable. For instance, network cables and phone cables are created using a crimping tool (shown below) to join RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors to both ends of phone or Cat 5 cable.

Phone and Networking crimping tool

How does it work?

To use this crimping tool, each wire is first placed into the connector. Then, the connector with wires are placed into the crimping tool, and the handles are squeezed together. Crimping punctures the plastic connector and holds each of the wires, allowing data to transmit through the connector.

Network terms, Tools