Forming a satisfactory crimp depends on the right combination of wire, terminal and tool.
A wire terminal for crimping consists of a mating section, a transition section and a crimping zone. The mating section is the part of the terminal that mates with the other half of the connection. The transition section contains stops or locking tangs that keep the terminal in place in the final product. Also known as the barrel, the crimp section is the part of the terminal that is deformed during crimping. Some terminals have two barrels: one for the wire and a second for the insulation. This extra barrel gives the joint added strength.