Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1499865
Molex 2023 13 With kilometers of wire and hundreds of connectors in every vehicle, the manual assembly of vehicle harness systems makes them a frequent cause of failures and warranty claims throughout the automotive industry. The impact of such claims on the manufacturers, both in material costs and the damage to their reputation, should not be underestimated. Copper Cabling Copper cabling (Figure 2) also plays a key role in vehicle performance, especially at a time when we are being encouraged to adopt smaller and more efficient modes of transport. The weight of such a large amount of copper cabling is a drain on the range and performance of cars and vehicles. The next generation of vehicles will see even greater demand for electrical connections as new technologies are introduced into the automotive industry. Manufacturers are keen to take advantage of the latest 5G wireless communication to improve safety and user experience. For the first time, cars will The Evolution of Vehicle Manufacturing The obstacles created by production technology issues are the result of how vehicle manufacturing has evolved. For example, new features and systems are currently developed and added to the existing vehicle wiring. Each feature is introduced as a new module, known as an electronic control unit (ECU), provided with its own dedicated wiring to connect it to the rest of the vehicle. As a result, the latest vehicles each require between 100 and 150 ECUs, along with the associated wiring harnesses. Not only are manufacturers running out of space in their vehicles for all these systems, but their wiring requirements are approaching the point of saturation. The installation of large numbers of sophisticated components has happened gradually over many years, and the cable harness has grown in complexity as a result. Like a snowball rolling downhill getting larger and larger, cable harnesses are now among the most complex components used in vehicle manufacturing. Modern cable harnesses are tasked with delivering power, data, and control signals all over the vehicle, and their complex shape means that they are costly to make. Despite the adoption of highly automated production lines by the automotive industry (Figure 1), cable harnesses are one of the few systems of any vehicle that are largely made by hand. This has several important consequences for manufacturers. Hand assembly of any component is expensive, and a component the size and complexity of a vehicle harness is more costly than most. There is also a significant impact on quality. One of the key benefits of robots building cars can be found in quality control, as robots are designed to repeat tasks with near flawless precision. Currently, robots cannot be used to create vehicle cable harnesses due to the complexity and pliability of the item. For example, because wiring harnesses lack rigidity, they can flex, twist, and otherwise move freely, making them difficult for a robot to handle. Figure 2: Copper cabling. (Source: Adobe Stock) 81% believe Level IV autonomous driving will be standard in 10 years— putting more pressure on cabling and performance Like a snowball rolling downhill getting larger and larger, cable harnesses are now among the most complex components used in vehicle manufacturing. Figure 1: Highly automated production line in an automotive factory. (Source: Adobe Stock)