Found the connection! 3D printing facilitates handling of cable assemblies

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Fraunhofer Institut IWU und Funktionsleichtbau

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

The handling, assembly, and installation of the wiring harness for vehicles were previously difficult to automate. Researchers from Dresden (Germany) have now changed this ...

The cable set, commonly referred to as a wiring harness for cars, consists of multiple cables of different lengths, cross-sections, and end contacts. For a robotic system, both the assembly and installation of a multi-kilometer-long cable system would be extremely difficult to manage. This requires numerous cameras, sensors, and intricate processing steps, as explained by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) in Dresden. Therefore, even today, the entire process chain from assembling the cables to installing them in the vehicle is characterized by a lot of labor-intensive manual work. However, with the help of Automated Cable Assembly ("AuCA"), the IWU has completely rethought cable laying and combined it with 3D printing.

Wiring harness assembly in just one system

Through the new process, the flexible cables no longer need to be grasped and can be laid from an endless reservoir. Additionally, the researchers developed a tool head that equips the laid cables with contacts. The concept for cable laying is automated, does not require image processing, and relies on an efficient laying system directly on the end component. This innovation eliminates pre-assembly, harness assembly, transport, and installation of cables. Several stages of manual work are essentially reduced to a single system that can be connected directly to the production line. "AuCA" also reduces the wiring harness to its core components: individual cables, necessary contacts, and application-specific bonds. This philosophy also saves weight and eliminates the need for additional materials for transport protection. Similar applications as with automotive wiring harnesses arise in all areas of cable integration, ranging from control cabinets to consumer electronics. However, additive manufacturing can offer even more advantages in the cable sector...

FEAM optimizes data transmission and light sources

Instead of (encased) cables, fiberglass paths can also be applied by printing onto various substrates. In Fiber Encapsulating Additive Manufacturing (FEAM), a single fiber or a fiber bundle is printed onto the component using a tool head and fixed with a plastic coating. This allows arbitrarily shaped fiberglass paths to be laid directly on the end component. With FEAM, the researchers in Dresden aim to extend the existing limits of glass fiber integration in order to develop more cost-effective and design-flexible cable systems for industrial applications. The IWU is working on methods that enable fully automated integration of glass fiber line elements. They are also developing tool head systems that work faster, more precisely, and more efficiently. Products with optical fibers that could be applied directly to components like injection-molded plastic parts require shorter processing times and save components.

Comparable advantages are obtained when FEAM is used for the direct placement of optical fibers on components. The IWU has developed a print head for this purpose, achieving placement speeds of up to 50 millimeters (approx. 1,97 inches) per second with fiber diameters from 0.2 to one millimeter—without the cladding material needing to meet special requirements, as emphasized. For example, SEFOs (Side-Emitting Fiber Optics) could be applied with a protective transparent sheath to an injection-molded part to create a powerful planar lighting element.