Which Products are Involved?

SRV, SRD, DVM, DVP, SME-DRM.

For SME-DRM (DIN rail mount) transmitter. Visit our product page to learn more about the full features.

Visit Rheonics product page: https://rheonics.com/products/ 

What is the purpose of this article?

To give guidance and good practices when preparing Rheonics sensor cables with a crimp of length 8mm and terminal diameter 1mm. The terminals of the SMET are rated for wires of 0.2 - 1.5 mm2 i.e. AWG 24 - 16.

 


1. Tools and BoM list

1.1. Tools

  •  Crimping Tool

Crimping tools are used to deform materials and create connections. To connect wires together or to other connectors, crimping is commonly used in electrical work. 

Figure 1. Crimping Tool - 24-10 AWG.[1]
  •  Precision Micro Wire Cutter

A wire cutter or cable cutter is a tool that cut wires and cables in a safe manner without damaging the insulation or conductors.

Figure 2. Precision Micro Wire Cutter. [2]
  •  Measuring Tape

A Measure Tape is a tool used to measure length.

Figure 3. Measuring Tape.[3]
  • Stripping tool

Wire strippers are portable handheld tools used by workers, especially electricians, to remove the protective coating of electric wires for replacement or repair.

Figure 4. Stripping tool[4]
  •  Knife

A tool used to cut wires or cables.

Figure 5. Knife. [5]
  •  Soldering Equipment

A durable, permanent connection can be created by joining conductive metal elements with solder. Soldering machines are essential tools for building, modifying, and repairing electronics.

Figure 6. Soldering Equipment.[6]
  •  Hot air gun

Heat guns are devices that emit a jet of compressed air toward a particular point or surface.

Figure 7. Hot air gun.[7]

1.2. BoM list


Item name

Manufacturer name 

Manufacturer Part Number

Vendor Part number

Reference

Ferrule

RND

RND 465-00566

301-10-345

https://www.distrelec.ch/

Solder wire

RS PRO

800-7661

800-7661

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/ 

Heat Shrink tube

HellermannTyton

380-03005

711-4783

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/ 

Eyelet

Vogt

2007.68

300-73-088

https://www.distrelec.ch/

  • Ferrule

Correct ferrule size must be selected based on the gauge of the wire, as a standard Rheonics uses ferrule with a pin length of 8mm and diameter of 1mm (cross-section 0.5mm2).

Figure 8. 22 AWG (8mm Pin) Insulated Ferrules. [8]
  •  Solder wire

Solder wires are wires with a low melting point, used to create joints using a soldering iron.

Figure 9. Solder wire[9]
  • Heat shrink tube

Heat shrink tubing is a common element in most electrical installations that protects wires from moisture, dust, abrasion, and sharp objects that might otherwise damage them.

Figure 10. Hear shrink tube[10]
  • Eyelet

Eyelet fittings are used for mounting cable assemblies using screws, pins, rivets, and bolts.

Figure 11. Eyelet. [11]


2. Cable Length


Required tools:

  1. Knife

  2. Measurement tape

  • Take the cable and cut the required length for your application by measuring with tape. We recommend stripping out the cable sheath at 18 cm (7 inches) from the end as a suitable length to prepare the cables for attachment to SME-DRM.


Figure 12. Cutting cable to the correct length.
3. Cable strip

Requirements:

  1. Knife

  • Strip out the sheath with the help of the cutter and a previous cut.


Figure 13. Strip cable sheath.


4. Cutting cable shield

Requirements:

  1. Knife

  2. Cutter

  • Loosen the metal shield from the black cable cover and cut it out.

Figure 14. Removing the cable shielding to get access to the internal wires.
  • With the help of the cutter, clean all the remnants from the shield and cable cover.

Figure 15. Cleaning the cover remnants.
5. Stripping the wire ends

Requirement:

  1. Cable stripper

  • Stripping the wire at 9mm from the end with the stripping tool.

Figure 16. Stripping wire end
6. Proper usage of crimpers

Requirement:

  1. Crimping tool

Your crimping tool should have a nest for inserting the terminal. After inserting in the correct slot, squeeze the crimp tool firmly and release it to get a long-lasting, tight fuse. 


Unused wires should be neither stripped nor crimped. We recommend protectiong the ends with a shrink tube to avoid the ends making any electrical contacts. 


We recommend crimping the ferrules on two sides instead of 4 sides as they work better with the terminals on the SME.


  • Twist the wire and Crimp them (Crimpers) using the Crimping Tool.

Figure 17. Crimping the wire end.
  • Final results after crimping all wires from the sensor cable.

Figure 18. Crimped wires.
7. Preparing grounding cable

Requirements:

  1. Soldering machine

  2. Solder wire

  3. Heat Shrink tube

  4. Hot air gun

  • Now take the prepared sensor cable and the metal shield and put them together to one side.

Figure 19. Metal shield thread prepared to be twisted.
  • Take a thin cable and strip both ends. 

Figure 20. Thin cable with both ends stripped.
  • Take the twisted metal shield of the prepared sensor cable and the stripped end of the thin wire and twist them together by adding some flux if necessary.

Figure 21. Ground cable
  • Solder the joint obtained in the previous step using the soldering equipment and the solder wire.

Figure 22. Soldering the join from two wires.
  • Put a heat shrink and pull it back so it completely covers the solder joint. Apply heat with the air gun.

Figure 23. Ground wire with Heat shrink
  • Soldering the ground wire in preparation for the eyelet.

Figure 24. Applying soldering material to the ground wire cable end.
8. Hiding shield leftovers

Requirement:

  1. Heat Shrink

  2. Hot air gun

  3. Eyelet

  • Pull the shrink tube over the prepared sensor cable to cover the group of wires.

Figure 25. Heat shrink tube pulled back in sensor cable cover
  • Blow hot air using the hot air gun at the shrink tube when oriented as instructed in the previous step.

Figure 26. Hot air was applied to the heat shrink tube
  • Inserting the Heat Shrink tubing before soldering the eyelet.

Figure 27. Inserting Heat Shrink tube
  • Soldering the eyelet with the ground wire.

Figure 28. Soldering the eyelet with the ground wire.
  • Cover the eyelet with heat shrink and blow it with heat to secure the joint.

Figure 29. Eyelet with heat shrink. 
  • After all the steps are complete the final result for the SME-DRM sensor cable is as shown below:

Figure 30. Sensor cable assembly completed for use with SME-DRM.

References: 

[1] https://www.knipex-tools.com/products/crimping-pliers/ferrules/crimping-pliers-wire-ferrules/9762145A 

[2] https://www.ferrulesdirect.com/products/fd3101 

[3] https://civiconcepts.com/blog/how-to-read-measure-tape 

[4] https://www.ferrulesdirect.com/products/fd2810ws
[5] https://www.uline.com/BL_1158/Uline-Steel-Utility-Knife 

[6] https://schofic.com/product/schofic-937-rework-soldering-station-smd-desoldering-solder-iron-handle-esd-soldering-kit-soldering-machine-soldering-iron-kit-soldering-stand-937/ 

[7] https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/heat-guns/1245159 

[8]https://www.distrelec.ch/en/bootlace-ferrule-5mm-white-14mm-pack-of-100-pieces-rnd-connect-rnd-465-00566/p/30110345 

[9] https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solder/8007661 

[10] https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/heat-shrink-tubing/7114783 

[11] https://www.distrelec.ch/en/solder-eyelet-tin-plated-brass-pu-pack-of-100-pieces-vogt-2007-68/p/30073088?track=true&no-cache=true&marketingPopup=false


Recommended articles:

https://support.rheonics.com/en/support/solutions/articles/81000408323-best-practices-for-cabling-installation 

https://support.rheonics.com/en/support/solutions/articles/81000406853-nothing-is-happening-when-i-plug-in-the-usb-cable- 

https://support.rheonics.com/en/support/solutions/articles/81000397120-what-can-go-wrong-with-4-20ma-loops- 


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