Wires and cables are intricate technologies that occasionally require alterations or reformations. Such adjustments require various methods to change their appearance or create new features. Soldering and crimping allow us to alter the form of cables and potentially create new features in a network.

What Is Crimping?

Crimping is a method in electrical engineering that takes the end of one cable and adds a plastic or metal piece to the end. The crimping process involves terminating a cable and using a cable stripper to expose the conductors within. The exposed wire goes inside a connector which clamps down on the wire and the end of the terminated cable.

What Is Soldering?

Soldering is different from crimping in a few ways. When you solder a cable, you’ll need a metal material called solder and a hot iron. You will start by stripping the cables to expose the wire. Placing the two exposed wires together, the hot iron, or soldering iron, will melt the solder over the joined cables and quickly solidify to create a connection.

When To Crimp

Crimping is generally used when you need to create a cable to plug into an outlet or connection point. It sees more use than soldering for airtight cable termination to ensure moisture and oxidization won’t break down parts of the cable.

If you have coaxial cable parts or parts for an Ethernet cable, you could terminate them to create a connection to an outlet. Crimping also works well for shortening a cable if you have too much length or a smaller space between devices. You can terminate the cable and crimp the connector onto the end.

When To Solder

Soldering has a long history in electrical engineering because it is a simple way to join cables. If you have two separate cables you want to connect for a longer range of connecting two devices, then a soldering iron will work best for you.

The solder will protect the point of connection once it solidifies and is heat and moisture-resistant. Soldering is popular for joining conductors in cables to circuit boards in technology. This method adds new functions and connects various devices.

When you need to take cable connection into your own hands, soldering and crimping are reliable methods that many electricians have used for years. Crimping and soldering methods are different and will have different effects in varying situations, but if you have the right tools, you will have the means of making electronic connections.