Design rules for

Initial situation and motivation

The majority of connector assembly is currently carried out manually. Only crimping can be automated thanks to a good balance between the degree of automation and cost. The degree of automation depends on the type of cable harness selected (HV - high-voltage, LV - low-voltage or KSK - customer-specific cable harness), with the KSK representing the most demanding production effort. The variety of parts available on the market makes automation difficult. There is a lack of industry-wide recognized and practicable design guidelines for connectors that facilitate or enable automation.

Current focus of work

One focus is the formulation of the design guidelines for connectors and their structural comparison with the design guidelines from phase 1 (design rules for the automation of the wiring harness). The previous results (with a focus on low-voltage) from phase 1 have now been written down in a draft standard and will be further specified here. An important milestone has thus been reached. In the upcoming phase 2, both high-voltage connectors and high-frequency connectors will be included. In addition, the existing design guidelines will be further refined and combined with the knowledge gained from the other sub-projects.

By eliminating design features that are required for manual processing, the aim is to find potential for simplification, provided that certain components are processed exclusively automatically.

Outlook

Sample parts are used to illustrate design features in a sample wiring harness. These activities will be approached as a synergy project across sub-projects. In addition, an update for the standard is to be initiated.