As vehicles’ electrical content increases and available packaging space decreases, the development of Electrical/Electronic (E/E) architecture has evolved into a more prominent role in the transportation industry. Waferized joint connectors, a component of Delphi Corp.’s (www.delphi.com) E/E architecture system, are designed to enable miniaturization where space is at a premium.
Waferized connectors, built from a number of smaller wafer connectors having only three or four terminal cavities, are miniaturized bussed systems. Traditional joint connectors used in harness assemblies have consisted of larger wafers with at least 10 terminal cavities, which are dependent on each other to provide secondary terminal locking and assembly to the mating connector or housing.
Suitable for vehicle interior wiring harnesses and instrument panels, these smaller connectors are designed to boost assembly flexibility, and build efficiency, quality, and savings.
Over the last two decades, Delphi says, the amount of wiring and cable in vehicles has more than doubled-but the packaging space has not. With the goal of “trimming down” the connectors-in mass and size-Delphi engineers redesigned the technology.
 Delphi’s waferized joint connector harness assemblies are designed to save space as vehicle electronics content increases. |
“We strongly believe that as more is demanded from vehicle wiring harnesses, which have to be smaller due to space requirements, waferization options will be in higher demand,” says John Kightlinger, supervisor of advanced process development. “Our technology enables more miniaturization efforts and automation.”
Delphi says its smaller wafers add flexibility: Sub-harnesses can be broken down to the size necessary for the most-efficient builds, eliminating splices and minimizing terminal plugs on assembly conveyors; unplugged terminals can be minimized or eliminated; and empty terminal cavities can be reduced significantly.
During final assembly, Delphi adds, the wafers do not need to be stacked to create the larger traditional connector. Instead, they can be plugged directly to the mating connector or housing.
Secondary terminal locking is accomplished at the sub-harness build area using an Integrated Secondary Lock (ISL) feature, which secures each terminal independently immediately after being plugged in. The sub-harness doesn’t get removed from the build fixture until all required wafer ISLs are engaged, which Delphi says helps eliminate quality issues resulting from unseated terminals. Specific ISLs can also remain unclosed to allow terminal plugging at the final harness build area.
Since the wafers are independent, Delphi says, no covers are required to provide functional support, and fewer wafers can be used in the overall design; they do not need to be assembled in a specific sequence to function properly. A single wafer can be removed from the array without disturbing the others; and a single terminal can be removed from that wafer without disturbing the ISL features of the other terminals within the wafers.
Wafers and their mating housings can be designed to use different terminal sizes and designs, allowing more flexibility in current-carrying capacity within the wafer array.
“Using a smaller wafer in a joint connector allows us to be more efficient in our electrical system design,” says Dave Wright, global director/innovation and E/E architecture at Delphi Packard E/EA. “The presence of unused cavities is greatly reduced, allowing the joint connector to be smaller and more cost efficient.”
Delphi engineers use proprietary design tools and software to create a virtual model of a vehicle’s E/E architecture-connectors, electrical center, electronic module and wiring harness. They evaluate the impact of various trade-offs to deliver an optimized system backed by the company’s technical centers and manufacturing facilities.
