Do you know, without doing any work or expending any time to find out, exactly what the criteria are to properly crimp the 3 sizes of insulated crimps ? That's die shape & size, size when fully closed, pressure needed, etc, etc ? No ? OK, there's your first bit of R from R&D.
Now, once you have that, you need to decide on the design of the tool. OK, there's a lot of tools out there that basically copy the first guy, but that design had to be done once, and any reputable manufacturer will do their own calcs.
Having done your outline design, you then need to determine the forces involved in the various parts - even if you only paid €5 for the tool, you'd be a bit peeved if it just mangled the first time you tried to use it. Again, most of the cheaper copies will be just copies without that bit, but any decent manufacturer will do their own to be sure - especially if it's something they are prepared to stick their name on
So there's your first bit of D from R&D.
Now you have to tool up to make them. Trust me, your attitude makes it clear that you have no concept whatsoever of what it costs to have press tooling made. If you did have a clue, you really would not be baulking at what many of us consider to be reasonable prices. Note my earlier post about the number of stampings needed for one tool - that's a lot of press tools to be made, and each tool has a limited life (tools stamping out 2-3mm steel sheet components do wear out). So that's a very big chunk of D - a
VERY big chunk.
Then you need to gear up your production line. Setup the riveting tools, train the operators, and if it's even a half decent tool - the calibration stage. Another significant chunk of D.
Oh yes, there's the plastic injection moulding tools as well. Another chunk of D.
And in my earlier post I forgot about the packaging - a piece of printed cardboard and a vac-formed plastic shell.
So now, you've got the tooling in place, the parts are rolling off, the assembly line is working, and finally you have the finished item in your warehouse. You need to tell potential customers that you have them (kerching £), ship them out to wholesalers (kerching £), the wholesaler need to add their profit margin (kerching £), the wholesaler needs to tell their customers that they have them (kerching £), and they need to get them to the customers (kerching £). The customer in this case might be a retailer, in which case they have their own overheads to pay for (kerching £) and marketing costs (kerching £), and maybe postage to the end user (kerching £).
And if you got it wrong in those R&D stages, and even in some cases if you didn't, then you'll get warranty returns. There'll be replacement products and/or refunds - additional costs with no returns. get it badly wrong and that can kill a business stone dead - it's happened in the past
So you need to build in a margin for "Oops" events.
Only if you ignore (I'll be generous and put it down to lack of knowledge) all these costs will you describe all these tools as rip offs.
Oh yes, Snap-On Tools were mentioned. Yup, they are "reassuringly expensive", but guess what - I own some Snap Ons (ooh err, missus)
Any professional mechanic, a real professional at least, will tell you that good tools are worth the cost. Picture the scene ...
Customer brings in car for repair, and there's that b'stard of a seized bolt. Cheapskate mechanic uses his cheap socket set that doesn't quite fit properly - so now he had a second problem, not only is the bolt still stuck, but the corners are rounded off on the head. Professional mechanic uses his quality tool where the socket is the right shape & size - and while it may or may not shift the bolt (sometimes more drastic action is needed), at least it won't add to the problem.
I've seen situations where shifting a bolt has meant destroying a component. Sometimes it's been a case "do it properly at the first attempt and it might not have been needed". Destroying a component like that adds to the cost of the repair, and might mean a delay of a day or two getting a replacement. A friend of mine once did a job (in this case it was a "swap" - he fixed the plasterer's van, the plaster plastered his bathroom) that ended up like that. He ended up with the van stuck on his lift in the workshop for several days - which had a knock-on effect on his ability to work on other (paying) customers' vehicles. In this case, it wasn't poor tools that caused the problem, but it illustrates how simple things can escalate.
BTW - if you do manage to break a Snap On tool, they replace it - lifetime warranty.
