PACE ComForm 1 Lead Bending and Component Forming Tool

Does not even say where it was made.

PACE's Conform Tool is pretty awesome. It's easy to use, allows you to bend stress relief loops, 90 degree bends, and provide a means to measure hole-to-hole distances, making component lead bending a joy! Some people have complained about that it is manufactured out of plastic, but I've been using this on a daily basis and have not experienced any problems. The tool seems to be both resilient and well-made. The tip points are pretty sharp though but after one prick, I learned my lesson.

TL; DR: Smaller device than expected. Does its job well as long as the footprints you're aligning it with are compatible with the part. Feels cheaply made; all-plastic construction isn't great for something like this. It's unclear if these are using glass-reinforced plastic or not. If the device is truly just plain-old ABS, this is a WAY-overpriced tool.Longer, more detailed review:1. This thing is SMALL. Unexpectedly so. The length of the calipers isn't much more than about 4", so be prepared for that.2. ALL of the parts are plastic, including the thumb screw. While this is OK, it also means that there may be bits of flashing on the individual parts that needs to be removed so that things can fully seat properly.3. Measuring footprints with this thing and getting it to match your parts is largely dependent on whether the footprints used on the board match up with this device's built-in stress-relief tolerances.4. Folding leads on this is a little counterintuitive and more than a little fiddly (due to the device's size). The instructions explicitly tell you NOT to fold the leads backwards (like many of us are used to with the classic red (or blue) lead formers) but UPWARDS, parallel to the fins on the caliper.5. The transistor lead former is excellent. My only concern is that because the device is plastic, the leads will gradually wear a groove into the body of the tool and it will need frequent replacement.6. The whole tool feels cheaply-made. The plastic is incredibly light, so much so that I'm concerned for its longevity. At $45 a pop, I expected better materials than what I'm feeling. If this is glass-fiber reinforced plastic, I can't tell, and honestly, it's something PACE should be using as a marketing point because otherwise, you're prone to think it's cheap ABS or PC plastic.7. Tolerances on the plastic are loose enough that the moving end of the calipers shift when the retaining screw is tightened; for tightly-packed boards this could wind up creating as much work as the tool relieves.

It wobbles a little while adjusting it.

This item is made of plastic and has a LOT of play when using the through-hole measurement. The “pins” that go into the holes in the PCB do not seem to be straight/aligned either. I do wish it was a bit more precise and sturdy. The instructions are ok. I think this item is WAY overpriced for what you get!