What is a Custom Cable Assembly or Wire Harness Assembly Company?
A cable assembly or wire harness manufacturer is a contract assembly company that assembles electrical components, wires, cables, and connectors into a customer-designed electrical assembly. These built-to-print finished assemblies are components of a customer’s electronic product. Cable assemblies are used to transmit data signals or power in electronic products.
Generally, a wire harness is an intricate combination of multiple cable assemblies into a single electrical sub-assembly. A wire harness assembly is held together in a specific routing pattern through the use of wire management products such as tie wraps, shrink tubing, self-adhering labels, and tape. They can also have protective coverings such as conduit, split loom tubing, expandable braided sleeving, or flex chains, that are used to protect the wires and other passive components in the assembly.
Cable Assembly 101: The 3 Basic Assembly Processes in Wire Harness Assembly
Wire Stripping:
The process of removing the outer protective layer (insulation) from a wire to expose the conductive metal core. This is done using manual, semi-automatic, or fully automatic stripping tools. Stripping the wire prepares it for connection to a terminal, connector, or other electrical component.
Wire Termination: Crimping or Soldering
Crimping: A mechanical process that joins the stripped end of a wire to a terminal or connector by applying pressure to deform the metal around the wire. This creates a secure and conductive electrical connection.
Soldering: A skilled process of creatin a metallurgical bond between the wire and the terminal, resulting in a watertight connection that can withstand vibrations, temperature changes, moisture and corrosion. Solder provides excellent electrical conductivity, ensuring optimal signal transmission without resistance or interference.
Solder can be used to connect wires of various gauges and materials, making it versatile for different cable assembly applications.
Final Testing and Inspection
- Purpose: Verifying the electrical and physical integrity of the wire harness to guarantee quality and reliability.
- Methods: Electrical Continuity, Resistance, High-Voltage Testing (HYPOT) testing, and visual inspection.
Cable Assembly 101: Terminology
- IPC/WHMA-A-620C STANDARD: The IPC/WHMA-A-620C serves as the international quality standards of acceptable workmanship guidelines in the cable assembly and wire harness Industry. It provides comprehensive guidelines on:
- Materials: Specifies acceptable materials for wire, terminals, connectors, and other components.
- Methods: Outlines proper techniques for crimping, soldering, and other assembly processes.
- Tests: Defines necessary tests to ensure product quality and reliability.
- Acceptance Criteria: Establishes clear standards for evaluating the finished product. By adhering to this standard, manufacturers can produce high-quality cable assemblies and wire harnesses that meet the expectations of their customers.
- American Wire Gage (AWG): A standard system for designating wire diameter. Primarily used in the U.S.
- Bellmouth The raised portion at the front and/or back of the wire barrel crimp that provides It’s a crucial design element that ensures:
- Braid: Woven bare metallic or tinned copper wire used as shielding for wires and cables and as ground wire for batteries or heavy industrial equipment. Also, a woven fibrous protective outer covering over a conductor or cable.
- Cable: A group of individually insulated wires in a twisted or parallel configuration, under a common jacket or sheath.
- Conductor: A single insulated wire used for carrying electrical current.
- Conduit: Essentially a tubular casing made of metal, plastic, fiber, used to protect and route electrical wires or cables within a structure or underground. Shields wires from physical damage, moisture, fire, chemicals, and other environmental hazards.
- Connector: A device used to physically and electrically join two or more conductors.
- Contacts: Typically a metal pin or socket within a connector that makes a secure connection with the corresponding part on another connector that enables the flow of current between the devices.
- Continuity: A continuous path for the flow of current in an electrical circuit.
- Crimp: The process of deforming a metal terminal barrel or connector body, compressing it to a specified height, and securing it onto a wire.
- Crimp Height: The measurement of the overall wire barrel height after crimping the terminal.
- Double Crimp: The process of two or more mechanical crimping operations on the same location in a single terminal.
- Electrical Current: the rate at which electric charge flows past a point in a circuit.
- Electrical Wire: A single solid or stranded metal core typically made of copper or aluminum that is insulated with an outer jacket or sheath.
- Ferrule: A ferrule is a small, cylindrical component, typically made of metal or plastic, used to reinforce or shield the end of a stranded wire to allow for easy insertion into terminal blocks.
- Grommet: A rubber seal used on the cable side of multiple contact connectors to seal the backside of a connector against moisture, dirt, or air.
- Harness: A group of wires and cables, usually made with breakouts. Furthermore, with a rubber or plastic sheath tie them together. A harness provides the interconnection of an electric circuit.
- Insulation: A material that offers high electrical resistance making it suitable for covering components, terminals, and wires. This material also helps to prevent the possible future contact of adjacent conductors and a resulting short circuit.
- Insulation Crimp: Area of a terminal, splice, or contact formed around the insulation of the wire.
- Jacket: An outer covering, usually nonmetallic, mainly used for protection against the environment.
- Lanyard: A small chain or wire rope that attaches the cover of a connector body to a back-shell to prevent loss or mismatching.
- Multiple-Conductor Cable: A combination of two or more conductors cabled together and insulated from one another and from sheath or armor where used.
- Polarization: A specific mechanical arrangement of inserts and/or back-shell configurations that prohibits the mating of mismatched plugs and receptacles.
- RF Connector: Connector used for connecting or terminating coaxial cable.
- Ribbon Cable: A flat cable of individually insulated conductors lying parallel and held together by means of adhesive film laminate.
- Strain Relief: A technique or item which reduces the transmission of mechanical stresses to the conductor termination.
- Stress Relief: A predetermined amount of slack to relieve tension in component or lead wires.
- Terminal: A device designed to terminate a conductor that is to be affixed to a post, stud, chassis, another conductor, etc., to establish an electrical connection. Some types of terminals also include ring, tongue, spade, flag, hook, blade, quick-connect, offset and flagged.
- Tubing: A tube of extruded plastic or metallic material typically used to protect, bundle wires together or cover solder joints. Can also be used for labeling.
- Wire Ties: Plastic or metal retaining straps that bundle wires or cables together or into separate groups. Also, used to route wire bundles in a specific angle or direction.
