[TowerTalk] Crimp Connector Tool

[Joe Subich, W4TV]

On 2020-01-08 4:09 PM, Gedas wrote:

> It then goes down the line for heat shrinking and labeling etc.
> Anyway, no way you or I can do things like that at home but for a
> company that can invest $1000 in the dies and jigs etc for a
> dedicated station they can make a huge profit.

Yes, there is some benefit to volume.  However, the cost for custom
tooling (dies, etc.), pneumatic presses, automatic cutters/strippers,
etc. still needs to be amortized (depreciated to the accountants)
and still impacts overall cost/profit.

There is still a limit to the number of cables that can be built
by a given number of production workers with a given set of tools
and *sold or used internally* in a given time period.  That balancing
act along with the overhead and minimum acceptable profit sets a
(hopefully reasonable) market price.

For the amateur who might need a couple dozen cables of various types
a year over 5 or 10 years, a one time expenditure of a couple hundred
dollars of hand tools (hand crimpers, dies, prep tools) probably
makes the most sense.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV


On 2020-01-08 4:09 PM, Gedas wrote:
> In an efficient industrial setting you would not believe how many RF 
> jumpers a worker or two can churn out in an hour. Our engineering 
> facility also had a HUGE production area (where we made all the SINCGARS 
> radios for the ARMY) and several dedicated stations out of several 
> hundred would be just for making jumpers etc.
> 
> It's all pneumatic powered and so "pre-programmed" that an operator can 
> start with a pre-cut length of RG-142 or RG-174 etc and in less then 1 
> minute have a pair of SMA or other connectors crimped on both ends. 
> Another operators job would be just to make pre-cut lengths of coax. 
> That operator would just cram in the coax into a die, push a foot-switch 
> and have it lop off all the non-needed braids, overcoat, & dielectric 
> parts exactly to length in one pass....That operator could several 
> cables every minute and require zero measuring or thinking.
> 
> It then goes down the line for heat shrinking and labeling etc. Anyway, 
> no way you or I can do things like that at home but for a company that 
> can invest $1000 in the dies and jigs etc for a dedicated station they 
> can make a huge profit. Having us build our own everything rather then 
> outsourcing meant way more profit in the end esp when I was told we 
> ended up selling over 1/2 million of those radios.
> 
> Gedas, W8BYA
> 
> Gallery at http://w8bya.com
> Light travels faster than sound....
> This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
> 
> On 1/8/2020 3:49 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>> On 2020-01-08 3:13 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>>> So materials cost for a 6 ft jumper is about $25.
>>
>> If materials is 50% of the selling price, a company is not making
>> much profit!
>>
>> How many jumpers can a competent production worker make and test
>> in an hour?  If that worker is making $10/hour, he/she is costing
>> the employer at least $15/hour with local/state/federal payroll
>> taxes *without* any other benefits.  Add benefits, the cost of
>> supervision, the cost of packing, cost of storage/carry, cost of
>> sale (credit card fees, commercial terms for direct sales or discounts
>> to retailers), cost of commercial overhead (buildings, electricity,
>> interest/depreciation for equipment) accounting, advertising, etc.
>> and that "50% over the cost of materials" is likely to produce
>> considerably less than 10% net profit before corporate taxes.
>>
>> When all is included, the producer of commercial cable assemblies
>> who prices at twice the cost of materials is likely to make $1 - $2
>> per cable assembly in real (spendable) profit.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>>    ... Joe, W4TV
>>
>>
>> On 2020-01-08 3:13 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
>>> On 1/8/2020 7:24 AM, Keith Dutson wrote:
>>>> While the cost may seem excessive, keep in mind these are made from 
>>>> the best
>>>> RG-400 cable available to ABR, and normally shipped to commercial
>>>> communications customers.
>>>
>>> It's at least 50% labor. First quality RG400 (Harbour Industries) 
>>> costs about $2.50/ft from good ebay vendors. Don' know cost of the 
>>> crimps, but 83-1SP with silver reducer is about $4.50 if you buy in 
>>> quantity. So materials cost for a 6 ft jumper is about $25. I'm long 
>>> retired, so my time comes pretty cheap. :)
>>>
>>> 73, Jim K9YC
>>