Taking Wiring Design to the Next Level

In this paper, the problem of wiring complexity that confronts electronic and electrical (EE) design engineers in the automotive, trucks and off-road industries will be discussed. The forces driving growing complexity in designs will be identified, including the pace of technological advancement, increasing legislative safety and environmental mandates, and escalating consumer demand. The consequences of escalating complexity for automotive EE designs and total manufacturer product cost will be analyzed. Areas needing improvement in current practices will be suggested and a suite of tools focused on the design-to-build-and-service flow will be described. Transportation platforms such as automobiles, trucks and off-road vehicles have contained electrical systems for decades. However, the last few years have seen a discontinuity in the nature of these electrical systems. Rapid growth in on-board electronic content and embedded software is putting huge demands on electrical design complexity. Put simply, the number of signals flowing around each vehicle is rising rapidly. Naturally this has a profound effect on harness design and construction.