Krone IDC Punchdown Tool

It seats an insulated conductor into an insulation-displacement contact so the contact cuts through the insulation and makes the electrical connection. On a cutting termination, it also trims the excess conductor at the same operation.

Use it on the IDC style it is designed for. The tool is there to make a controlled termination, not to provide a more elaborate way of pushing wire into any slot that happens to be nearby.

Because the IDC needs the conductor seated to the correct depth without damaging the contact. A proper punchdown tool supports the terminal and applies the force in the way the connector was designed for.

A screwdriver can spread the contact, damage the module or leave the conductor half seated. It can look finished and still give you an intermittent fault later.

They are different IDC termination patterns. The blade geometry has to match the contact block you are terminating.

The 110 tool supplied here has a replaceable 110 blade and adjustable impact. The Krone tool has its own fixed Krone-style termination head with an integrated cutter. They are not two names for the same blade shape.

Use the tool pattern specified for the IDC terminals on the patch panel, module, outlet or block. If the hardware is 110 IDC, use a 110 blade. If it is Krone IDC, use the Krone tool or another tool fitted with the correct compatible blade.

Do not choose the punchdown tool from the cable category alone. Cat5e and Cat6 tell you about the cabling performance; 110 and Krone tell you about the termination interface.

No. Leave the insulation on the individual conductors. The IDC contact is designed to displace that insulation as the conductor is seated.

Strip back the outer cable sheath only as far as needed to dress the pairs into the termination.

Yes, when the cable and the IDC hardware are compatible and the tool matches the IDC pattern. A punchdown tool is not inherently 'Cat5e' or 'Cat6'.

The category performance comes from the complete cable, connecting hardware, termination quality and finished link. The tool's job is to make the specified IDC termination correctly.

Put the cutting side towards the waste end of the conductor. The side you want to keep must remain on the terminal side of the cutter.

Check the orientation before you press. Cutting the cable on the wrong side is a very efficient way of turning a nearly finished termination into another attempt.

Dress the conductor into the correct IDC position, hold the tool square to the terminal and press straight down until the termination action completes. On a cutting position, make sure the cutter is towards the waste end first.

Do not twist the tool while it is in the contact and do not use it like a hammer. Let the mechanism and blade do the work.

Only as much as you need to place the conductors into their IDC positions. Keep the twists as close to the termination as practical.

Untwisting a long, beautifully straight fan of conductors may look organised, but those twists are part of the cable's crosstalk performance.

First check that the cutting side is facing the waste end and that the tool has completed its full termination action. If the conductor is seated but still attached, trim the waste cleanly rather than pulling it sideways through the IDC.

Repeated poor cuts are a reason to inspect the cutter or blade for damage or wear.

Avoid repeatedly working the same termination. If the conductor is wrongly placed, remove it carefully and reterminate it cleanly, following the connector manufacturer's limits for reuse of the IDC.

More impacts are not a substitute for a correct first termination. Once the wire is properly seated, leave it alone.

Yes. Check the completed cabling after termination. A basic wiremap test will find common faults such as opens, shorts and crossed conductors; a standards-compliant installation should be tested to the required cabling category with suitable certification equipment.

A neat row of punched-down wires is encouraging, but it is not test equipment.

Yes. The Krone tool has an integrated cutting mechanism that trims the waste conductor as the wire is terminated.

No. The termination head on this Krone tool is an integrated part of the tool rather than the replaceable bayonet blade used by the 110 model.

No. This model does not have the high/low impact adjustment found on the 110 tool. Use it as supplied for compatible Krone-style IDC terminations.

The current tool has two fold-out ancillary tools in the handle: a hooked piece and a straight flat piece. The packaging describes this as a combination-hook arrangement and shows them being used around termination hardware.

They are for handling or lifting conductors and working around compatible IDC hardware; they are not alternative punchdown blades.

The current product specification states that the Krone tool is suitable for use with both solid and stranded cable conductors.

The IDC terminal still has to be specified for the conductor being used. The tool does not make an unsuitable connector compatible with a different wire construction.

Buy the one that matches the IDC hardware you actually have. Choose the 110 tool for 110-style contacts and the Krone tool for Krone-style contacts.

The 110 model is the more configurable tool, with a replaceable blade and high/low impact selection. The Krone model is simpler and lighter, with an integrated cutter and fold-out ancillary tools. Neither is 'better' in the abstract; the wrong blade fitted to the wrong IDC is merely a more sophisticated mistake.

Keep the head and cutter clean, protect exposed cutting edges in storage and fold any ancillary hooks back into the handle. Do not use the blade as a general-purpose lever or screwdriver.

If a replaceable blade becomes damaged or stops cutting cleanly, replace it rather than compensating with more force.