In the future, companies can achieve more with the help of digitization and digital processes. A traditional shop starts with preparing the material for assembly, cutting the wire, preparing the wire, soldering and connector pre-assembly. The wire harness is then assembled on the tooling board and post-assembly tasks are performed by a technician. State-of-the-art solutions have been able to automate the design and optimization of process bills, generating the necessary operating manuals and wiring harness tooling drawings.
In the future, these solutions will be integrated with other system networks. The ERP system will help manage material reserves for wire harness manufacturing, while in-shop manuals can be provided through a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), collecting and providing real-time data and generating feedback based on that data to help improve processes and designs. From model-based planning and simulation to integrated manufacturing systems, wire harness manufacturers can achieve significant efficiency and productivity gains with a fully digitized process. Model-based engineering coupled with a continuous digital process can help manufacturers reduce design errors by 50%, cut quote-to-production cycle time by 30%, and reduce wire harness assembly drawing design time by up to 85%