Technical Publications
New Tools Answer Old Issues in Wiring Harness Design
Building automotive wiring harnesses is a tough business; one in which only the strong survive. Harness makers must deliver products that are ever more complex. They also must offer steadily improving quality. And of course, a lower price tag! Standing still is not an option when competitors are clawing at one’s market share.
To remain competitive and preserve margins, harness makers must continually innovate in all areas of their business. This article looks at some key design process issues facing automotive harness makers, and assesses the impact upon their businesses. We will see how some innovative software solutions are helping harness manufacturers solve some thorny technical problems.
Taking Wiring Design to the Next Level
In this paper, the problem of wiring complexity that confronts electronic and electrical (EE) design engineers in the automotive, trucks and off-road industries will be discussed. The forces driving growing complexity in designs will be identified, including the pace of technological advancement, increasing legislative safety and environmental mandates, and escalating consumer demand. The consequences of escalating complexity for automotive EE designs and total manufacturer product cost will be analyzed. Areas needing improvement in current practices will be suggested and a suite of tools focused on the design-to-build-and-service flow will be described. Transportation platforms such as automobiles, trucks and off-road vehicles have contained electrical systems for decades. However, the last few years have seen a discontinuity in the nature of these electrical systems. Rapid growth in on-board electronic content and embedded software is putting huge demands on electrical design complexity. Put simply, the number of signals flowing around each vehicle is rising rapidly. Naturally this has a profound effect on harness design and construction.
Making the Most of Electrical Simulation in the MCAD/PLM World
Modern equipment such as automobiles, aircraft or robots can be thought of as complex electromechanical assemblies. Commercial imperatives of reduced time to market, improved quality and minimized total cost demand design processes based on virtual prototyping: creation of a digital product model whose characteristics can be understood and optimized. One key modeling aspect is electrical simulation, in which electrical behavior and performance is forecast using specialized software. But electrical simulation is tightly coupled with the mechanical domain: physical information is needed to calculate parameters such as signal attenuation. This article explores some of the types of electrical simulation deployed in leading companies and the technologies that robustly link the mechanical and electrical worlds. Challenges that must be faced include cross-domain integration and synchronization, data management, and design change management. With these issues considered some examples of electrical simulation that depend on mechanical data are described, including simulation-based component selection and CAN network signal integrity analysis. Last, methods for consolidating electrical and mechanical data within a PLM environment are considered.
The Aerospace Industry Takes a Fresh Look at Its Wire Harness Design Approach
The aerospace industry has long been perceived as slow to adapt to new wire harness engineering technologies and processes. Many enterprises rely on systems created in-house, with each tool being structured to support a very specific design/build process. Departments and divisions responsible for defining the electrical content of vehicles and integrating the electrical systems have one of the most demanding jobs in vehicle design. While these organizations are often understaffed relative to the scope of their task, they have the distinction of being expected to manage the highest number and rate of design changes. Companies, especially OEMs, are finding it difficult to adopt new wire harness technologies and processes while maintaining the quality of their deliverables. Until recently, electrical system and wire harness development tools have not been viewed as an adequate solution for developing complex electrical wiring systems. Now aircraft systems and wiring designs are making a transition from traditional mechanical and pneumatic systems to electrical, and the entire electrical architecture of the vehicle is becoming more complex. Companies are finding that their existing solutions do not provide the needed engineering capability. But powerful new technologies are emerging and many companies are taking another look. Entrenched beliefs are changing.
Accelerating Wire Harness Development for Off-Highway Vehicles
Manufacturers of off-highway vehicles are faced with the same challenges as companies in other sectors reducing design and manufacturing costs, reducing lead times, and improving product quality. Today, many of these companies create their electrical and wire harness designs using basic drawing packages. This paper describes how off-highway vehicle manufacturers can gain significant productivity and quality improvements in their electrical design process by using dedicated electrical design software tools.
Electrical and Mechanical Integration in Automotive and Aerospace Design
This paper addresses the issue of increasing complexity of today's automotive and aerospace electrical systems. Manufacturers now seek a high degree of integration between their business and design tools. MCAD, ECAD, PLM, PDM, Workflow and ERP systems are no longer selected purely through their individual functionalities, they must also integrate - and the integration must include all data in the process.
Automating Systems Integration and Electrical Distribution in Modern Car Platforms
Intelligent allocation of systems and devices into the platform, and their subsequent interconnection via physical wiring, is a critical process that affects the quality and reliability of end products. In addition, design and manufacturing costs can be reduced by implementing processes and tools that facilitate the optimum design of the electrical system. The challenges associated with the deployment of systems and their electrical distributions are significant, and require a unique solution. The solution must automate device packaging in the car, and synthesize wiring within the available routing channels. This paper outlines an approach that results in the synthesis of an electrical interconnect system valid for all vehicle variants and options, available for simulation, high level analysis and downstream manufacturing operations.
Using Standards to Build a Stable Framework for Product and Market Development
This paper discusses the role of data exchange Standards in building a framework for the seamless flow of data between suppliers and manufacturers with particular reference to the use of AP212 and KBL in the automotive industry. The importance of Standards, for supporting both the development of a robust technical architecture, and a robust interface format for manufacturing integration are explained. The issues involved, and the potential problems, of introducing Standards into the marketplace are also discussed.