BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
The electrical wire-processing industry is like others that fall under the manufacturing umbrella, in that it is navigating through some of its roughest times and pretty sure (but probably not certain) that it has hit bottom.
Professionals from the industry gathered in Milwaukee in late May at the National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo, and collectively, their expectations for the business year ahead were tempered.
The event sits along with the Wiring Harness Manufacturers Association (WHMA; www.whma.org) annual conference as two of the most significant learning and networking opportunities for professionals in the cable-assembly and wiring-harness business. The Wire Expo annually populates an exhibit floor with automated assemblers, cable strippers, crimping tools and machines, cutting equipment, heat-shrink applicators, marking and identifying equipment, soldering gear, and a host of other wire-processing technologies. This year, the exhibition’s attendance was down from previous years–the rule rather than the exception across the spectrum of conferences and exhibitions in 2009.
Within the exhibition and in the seminar room, which was sponsored by Connector Specifier, discussions typically began on the theme of the economy’s sorry state, but quickly turned to practical exchanges about the industry’s directions and drivers. Providers of automated assemblers, for example, explained that they expect to see more business for their benchtop equipment that facilitates smaller-volume manufacturing than they’ll see for their full-featured equipment.
Electrifying automotive
The automotive industry is a significant end-use market for assemblies and especially harnesses. As this year’s technology expo was taking place, the solvency of two major United States automakers–Chrysler and General Motors–was hanging in the balance. While cable news networks were broadcasting the economic and political ramifications of government involvement in automobile production, the scene in Milwaukee was more focused on the practical implications of the expected sharp rise in demand for connectivity technology in hybrid vehicles.
Among the most recent news on that front is the release of two specifications from the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR; www.uscar.org) Electrical Wiring Component Application Partnership (EWCAP; ewcap.uscarteams.org). Earlier, EWCAP issued two SAE/USCAR specifications–one for high-voltage connectors, the other for cable-to-terminal electrical crimps. At the same time, it issued a third specification that defines ergonomic guidelines for assembly.
“Our previous SAE-USCAR 2, Performance Specification for Automatic Electrical Connector Systems, applied to wiring capacities of up to 20 volts,” explained EWCAP technical specialist Jim Roberts. “The new supplement addresses performance up to 600 volts.”
Similarly, SAE/USCAR 21 Performance Specification for Cable-to-Terminal Electrical Crimps addresses larger crimps than the previous specification did. The previous spec covered crimps for wires up to 8 mm; the revised version covers them for high-energy cables of up to 103 mm.
When announcing the new specifications, EWCAP explained, “summarizing the new specifications by name and brief description radically simplifies what truly is a complex and arduous process. Each specification actually comprises a multitude of requirements for measurements and other functional characteristics. Testing can take more than six months to complete. Testing procedures, validation processes, and acceptance criteria are captured in a bound document for each publishes specification.”
SAE/USCAR 25 Revision 1 Electrical Connector Assembly Ergonomic Design Criteria sets specifications for the design, assembly force requirements, and packaging of conventional hand-plug, mechanical-assist and twist-lock electrical connectors as well as connector position assurance features and other design guidelines meant to ensure good fit and function.
“The ergonomic update came through a committee of Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors engineers, working to identify operator needs,” Roberts said. “We looked at things like tactile issues and excessive connector mating forces in an effort to minimize the possibility of repetitive stress injury during the vehicle- assembly process.”
EWCAP maintains that with the increased focus on vehicle electrification by all three U.S. automakers, the group’s work in setting universally accepted electrical wiring and connector specifications will continue to be a mainstay in increasingly wired vehicles.
“While wireless aspects of vehicle communications and operations will continue to grow, there are key issues where hard-wiring is essential to ensuring uninterrupted performance and safety,” Roberts said. “I think EWCAP will continue to be ahead of the curve in that regard, providing needed specifications for all types and combinations of conventional, as well as electric vehicles, ranging from battery-electric to hybrids, plug-ins, and range-extended EVs.”
Reliable RoHS
As economic ebbs and flows (more ebbs than flows these days) change the directions of some market segments, one wire-processing theme that has been constant for years remains so–and was on the agenda again at Wire Processing Expo 2009. A seminar presented by Joe Langton of Intertek (www.intertek.com) discussed Restriction of Hazardous Subtances (RoHS), and specifically, why OEMs are asking wire and cable companies for RoHS verification.
Langton’s presentation (which can be seen in its entirety at www. connectorspecifier.com), included discussion of the global challenge that RoHS presents, as well as the directive’s current status, enforcement, and common issues facing wire and cable companies. He focused attention on specific substances and where they show up in assemblies and harnesses. Lead, for example, can be discovered in shrink tubing, the polyvinyl chloride jacketing on a cable, within the ink on an applied label, and inside solder connections.
Additionally, connectors may contain cadmium; bromides can be found in plastic housings, and some connector shells may contain hexavalent chrome finish.
Langton indicated that wire and cable companies can achieve solutions to these issues by implementing compliance assurance systems, and entertained the idea that x-ray fluorescence (xrf) can be used in such a system. CS
