Wiring harness design in CATIA V5 - 3D modeling Week 2 Challenge

Introduction

Electrical Distribution system (EDS) and Wiring harness

1) Electrical Distribution System: It involves physical and logical schematic architecture development, power distribution, design of wiring harness of given electrical system. The physical location of all electrical components placed in the vehicle can be seen here. It also provides the logical connectivity between all electrical components.

2) Electrical &Electronic Architecture: It is a high-level logical connectivity diagram. E/E architecture can be understood as the data exchange, signal flows, and communication and interface protocols. It shows the Control Area Network (CAN) between different electronic components.

3) Electrical schematics: This represents detailed design of pin-to-pin connectivity, logical schematics, fusing and grounding distribution, interconnects, wiring properties (wire gauge, colour, type), component specification, circuit properties (circuit number, connector designation number, control device number), and primary input for harness design.

4) Logical schematics: It shows the logical connectivity between different components and controls of given systems and subsystems. It only defines parameters related to electrical connectivity.

5) Wiring harness routing: It provides the desired path of wiring harness into given vehicle topology by applying set of design rules and industry best practices.

6) Wiring harness topology: It is a strategy to split the wiring harness between different entities to achieve the best manufacturability, serviceability, and cost-effective design.

7) Wiring harness packaging: It is the mounting strategy of wiring harness routing to ensure safe, reliable, and durable working of wiring harness by applying set of design rules and best practices.

Wiring Harness Assembly

The term Wiring Harness refers to the assembly of

1) Wires: Various bundled copper conductors together. Each individual wire is responsible for carrying the electrical signals and energy. And are insulated with PVC insulation.

2) Connectors: These are electro-mechanical device used to join electrical termination. Connectors create an electrical circuit. These are plastic molded housing with locking and retention feature.

3) Terminals: Metallic contacts used to terminate a conductor that is to be affixed to post, stud, chassis, etc., to establish electrical connection. These are plated with different metals according to requirement.

4) Corrugated Tubes: Corrugated flexible tube for protecting the wires against external heat and damage.

5) Insulation: Adhesive and non-adhesive tapes and sleeves made of Polymer or cotton (very effective in high-temperature zone).

6) Clips & Clamps: Plastic molded parts with mounting /snapping features used for assembling two parts.

7) Retention device: Plastic molded parts to mount connector and other harness components. Connector back-shells.

8) Guiding channels: Plastic molded parts or metal parts designed to guide harness bundle in given geometric area to secure and protect the harness.

Design Of Wiring Harness in Catia V5

1) Electrical part design: The mechanical part is converted into an electrical part by manipulating the electrical properties into it. This is where the major electrical properties of a component are assigned to it. This involves defining the type of component, defining various entry and exit points/planes

2) Electrical Harness Installation: This is where the Harness is routed. This is where each electrically defined component is connected by means of harness and protective layers.

3) Electrical Harness Flattening: Finalizing the routing.

Defining Connector features

The specified connectors are downloaded from te.com. In the part design workbench the centre point and axis system to the wire-bundle inserting end and connector connection end are provided. The axis must be given in a specified way:

Defining Connector connection Axis

X-axis: Towards the locking mechanism of clip.

Y-axis: Towards the front face of connector.

Z-axis: left or right of the connector.

Once the axis is defined, in the electrical part design workbench,

• Using the define connector tool, convert the mechanical part into connector.
• Now connector connection point, bundle entry point, and cavity mounting point is defined.
• Once the electrical properties are given new properties will be shown in the design tree.

Connector Connection Point – The Centre of axis system is chosen as the representation

• Contact is the face of the connector that will mate
• Coincidence is chosen as Y-axis
• Orientation is chosen as X-axis

Bundle Connection Point

Cavity Connection Point


Various Representations

Using the electrical part assembly workbench all the parts can be assembled once the connection points are given.