DIE CLEARANCE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR A CRIMPING DEVICE

A die clearance monitoring system includes a light source, a light detector, and a controller. The light source is disposed along a front side of a die set of a crimping device and emits light towards the die set. The die set includes a first crimp die and a second crimp die that engage and crimp an object along a crimp stroke. The light detector is disposed along a rear side of the die set. The light detector receives the emitted light from the light source that traverses across the die set through a gap defined between the first and second crimp dies and generates light absorption data based on the emitted light that is received. The controller is communicatively connected to the light detector. The controller processes the light absorption data to determine a relative spacing between the first crimp die and the second crimp die.