Wiring Harness Routing design on Backdoor of SUV using Catia V5

AIM:

• To design and develop the Wire Harness Routing for the given Backdoor by following the design and packaging rules.

OBJECTIVE:

• To define all the connectors electrically and save it in the Catalogue.
• To place all the connectors and cavities at the required position.
• To place P Clamps and Fir Tree clips at the required position by following the packaging rules.
• To create the Wire Harness Routing as per required and create branch points wherever required and also by following the packaging rules.
• To create the Wire Harness Flattening of the above routing.
• To display the flattened view in the drawing sheet.

DESIGN METHODOLOGY:

Step - 1:

• Create a product file as 'Backdoor Wiring Harness Context' in which all the part and product files will be assembled which are required for the routing.

Step - 2:

• Create another product file as 'Backdoor Geometric Bundle' where all the connectors are added to it and the final routing is a part of this product file.

Step - 3:

• Now add the Backdoor part, Geometrical Bundle file and other required parts or products to our main 'Backdoor Wiring Harness Context' product file.

Step - 4:

• Electrically define all the connectors, cavity clips and define the Connector Connection Point and the Bundle Connection Point.
• After electrically defining each and every connector, save it in the Connector catalogue so that it can be used later.

ELECTRICALLY DEFINING CONNECTORS:

1. C-776438-4

2. C-282080-1

3. OMEGA FIR TREE:

4. FIR TREE:

SAVING IN THE RESPECTIVE CATALOGUE:

CONNECTOR CATALOGUE:

SUPPORT PARTS CATALOGUE:

PROTECTION PARTS CATALOGUE:

Step - 5:

• Add all the connectors to the Geometric Bundle product file and place them using the 'Smart Move' or 'Manipulation Tool' command and the compass into their desired location.
• In this backdoor we need to place the connectors for various purposes like:
  • Interconnection Connector (1)
  • Brake Light Connectors (2)
  • Indicator Light Connectors (2)
  • Number plate light Connectors (1)
  • Wiper Motor Connector (1)
  • Door Lock connector (1)
  • Rear camera connector (1)
• The Interconnection Connector is used to connect the wire harness of the backdoor with the vehicle body wire harness.
• While placing the Fir tree we must keep in mind that the fir tree cannot be placed in the sealing flange of the backdoor as it will create sealing issues during assembly process and also the wire routing will not be proper.

Backdoor Assembly

 Position of Interconnection Connector

Position of firtree clip

Position of brake light and Indicator sensor (Left)

Position of Brake light and Indicator sensor (Right)

Registration plate connector

Door handle lock connector

SOME IMPORTANT PACKAGING RULES TO BE CONSIDERED DURING WIRE HARNESS ROUTING AND PLACING OF THE CLIPS AND CLAMPS:

• P - Clamps, Fir tree clips and other clips can be added to the Geometric bundle as they are electrically defined and are part of the Wire harness routing and should be provided with the Wire bundle package.
• The minimum bundle length should be 50mm.
• Enough slack should be provided so that the wiring harness does not get damaged during the Engine rocking or starting condition.
• The wire harness routing should be done in such a way that it is easy in manufacturing and serviceability.
• The wire routing should be done keeping in mind the cost effectiveness of the bundle package.
• To avoid the harness routing and clipping in blind zones of the operator during the assembly and the service.
• Additional slack should be given according to the surrounding and harness bending requirements.
• To avoid giving excess slack and avoid giving slacks wherever not necessary.
• To provide proper slack at end connectors so that there will be no tension on the wire bundle.
• To avoid sharp edges on the sheet metal parts and if it is not possible then provide protection parts to prevent damage of the wire bundle.
• The minimum distance between two straight connection points should be 200mm.
• The minimum distance between clip and the nearest branching point should be 25mm.
• The minimum distance between two breakout points should be 50mm.
• To limit the number of branches from a single branch point to 4.
• To provide separate branch points for separate connectors to ensure Poka-Yoke.

Keeping all the above packaging rules we can start the routing of the wire and provide clipping and clamping wherever necessary during the routing process.

Step - 6:

• After placing all the connectors and clamps at the desired location by following the packaging rules, the wire routing is started from the Interconnection connector.
• Further clips or clamps are added during routing depending upon the wire topology and in order to satisfy the design and packaging rules.

WIRE ROUTING:

Step - 7:

• After completing the routing check for the bundle continuity to ensure that all the bundle segments are fully connected so that there will be no problem during flattening of the wire.

False segments check

True segments check

 APPLYING PROTECTION PART TO THE REQUIRED BUNDLES:

Step - 10:

• After finally completing the wire harness routing by following the packaging rules we need to flatten our wire harness assembly.
• To create the wire harness flattening we need to create another product file and navigate to the 'Electrical Harness Flattening' workbench.
• In the workbench first we need to define the Harness Flattening Parameters and then Extract the geometric bundle from the wiring harness context product file.
• Then we can select all the branches and flatten the entire Geometric bundle.
• If all the bundles are fully connected then by selecting 'select all branches' the entire bundle can be selected and flattened.
• The bundles can be rotated and rolled with a proper radius in order to fit the drawing sheet.

WIRE HARNESS FLATTENING:

Now we need to flatten the routing using some commands

Step - 11:

• After the wire bundle is flattened in the respective product file and workbench it can be represented in the drawing sheet.
• Bill of Material, different connectors used and different clips and clamps used can be added to the drawing sheet for further reference.

REPRESENTATION OF THE FLATTENED WIRE IN THE DRAWING SHEET:

Step - 12:

• The main product file can be converted into a part file so that no component is missed out during transfer of files.

CONCLUSION:

• From the above project we learnt how to route wire harness on a backdoor / tailgate of a car.
• We also learnt about different packaging rules that must be kept in mind during wire routing.
• We also learnt how to flatten the wire and represent it in the drawing sheet.
• After finalizing the wire routing, we can request the corresponding Engine design team to provide additional holes for the mounting of Fir tree clips.