The Importance of Proper Wiring Harness Design
A wiring harness is a bundle of cables that route electrical signals. It is an essential part of modern vehicles with a growing number of sensors and advanced driver assistance functions.
It helps improve assembly efficiency by reducing installation time. Also, it can reduce the risk of a short circuit due to stray wires by keeping them contained.
Optimal Design
When engineers are designing a new product, they focus on functionality, features and styling. However, they often forget to consider the wiring harness. Proper design of a wire harness can significantly improve the life cycle of a product by optimizing the routing of wires and decreasing the form factor. It also prevents electrical shorts, signal crosstalk and physical damage by binding the wires into a non-flexing bundle.
Choosing the appropriate type of wire and terminals is essential for a successful wire-harness design. There are several different types of wires available, including bare or plated copper and various types of insulating materials. They also have different voltage ratings, so it is important to choose the right one for your Wiring Harness project. In addition, it is important to minimize the length of the wires in order to decrease the amount of voltage lost through resistance and heat.
A good wire harness will be well-organized and contain all of the necessary connectors and terminations. This will help ensure that the harness can meet the needs of its intended application and resist environmental factors such as vibration, moisture, and heat. Also, it will be easy to maintain. In addition, a good wire harness will include labels that can be used to identify the connectors and splices. A labeling feature is especially useful if you are planning to submit your harness design to a contract manufacturer.
Durability
Wire harnesses are designed to manage multiple wires within a limited space. They are also meant to help prevent workflow related faults. This is done by ensuring that the correct type of wire is used and proper contact is made to avoid overheating, faulty connections or exposed wiring.
When creating a wire harness, the design process begins by using software tools to create a 2D and 3D layout that can be shared with manufacturing plants for assembly. This allows for better planning and reduces rework and errors.
During the pre-assembly phase, each individual wire is bundled together and covered with an outer sleeve. This protective covering helps to guard against extreme temperatures, moisture, and dust. The sleeve also protects the wires from abrasion and vibration.
After the sleeve is applied, the end connectors are crimped onto each wire using either an automatic or manual crimping tool. This step is critical because incorrect crimping can cause short circuits, loss of continuity or even complete disconnections when the harness is pulled. This is why it’s important to use a quality crimper that provides accurate measurement and consistency.
Once the sleeve and end connectors are on, the wires are then assembled into kits. Each kit is assigned a unique ID and the history of each component is maintained in the system. This way, any problems with a particular kit can be isolated and the cause determined.
Flexibility
As automobiles are equipped with more and more electric devices, the wiring harness is a crucial component for connecting these. The wires are bundled together and then covered in protective sleeves that guard against extreme heat, moisture, dust, and friction. Those sleeves are made of materials like silicone and PolyTetraFluoroEthylene (PTFE), which are known for their ability to withstand high-temperature environments.
It’s important to use the right wire gauge to ensure that a wiring harness assembly can handle the amount of current it needs to carry, which is measured in amps. The length of the wire also matters. If it’s too long, it can cause excess heat, which Single Row Led Light Bar will decrease the lifespan of the wire and may cause it to break or get loose.
The ideal way to avoid this is by using a model-based design, which uses computer models to simulate how cable assemblies will behave under different loads. These computer models can then be used to improve and enhance the performance of a product.
IPS offers a full suite of tests that will help you validate the quality of your wire harnesses. These tests include continuity, resistance, dielectric breakdown, and insulation resistance. They’re designed to be fast and easy to use, so you can save time on testing and reduce the risk of error. These tests can also be used to create technical publications that are easy for service technicians to understand.
Safety
Whether the harness is used in an aircraft or a piece of heavy equipment, it should be protected from the elements. Harnesses can be made more durable and long-lasting by using protective sheaths like braided loom or convoluted tubing to protect the wires from impact. This prevents shorts and extends the lifespan of the harness.
Strain relief is another key safety measure in wire harnesses. This helps to prevent the breakage of the wires due to mechanical stress, which can significantly reduce their lifespan. Strain relief is especially important for high-voltage and/or high-amperage applications where the wires may be exposed to a lot of force or vibration.
The right gauge of wire is also essential for the safety of a wire harness. This is because the higher the gauge of a wire, the more current it can carry. Choosing the wrong gauge of wire can result in voltage drop, overheating, and insulation breakdown.
In addition to ensuring that the right gauge of wire is used, proper bundling and routing are critical for the safety of a wire harness. If the wires are not properly bundled together, it can cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) and cross-talk. This can be caused by either natural or man-made interference, such as lightning or electrical motors. It is also vital to ensure that the wires are insulated and shielded to protect them from these interference sources.
