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As for the cost-reducing design of the frame wire harness, this paper expounds in detail from five aspects: localization, rational application of consumables, optimization of design, component selection and optimization of fixing methods. Practice has proved that the cost of Wire Harness production will be obviously reduced by improving the above five aspects.
1 Introduction
With the rising price of raw materials, inflation and intensified competition among industries, all industries are facing the problem of cost reduction and efficiency increase. However, cost reduction often leads to the decline of product quality, which is unacceptable to customers, and it is also a situation that enterprises should avoid for sustainable development. Then, reducing the cost, ensuring the quality, and realizing the increase of benefits at the same time have become the primary problems that enterprises need to solve urgently.
As an important component of forklift electrical components, the frame wiring harness, like the blood vessels and nerves of human body, plays a role in connecting all electrical components of forklift. At the same time, the cost of the frame wiring loom also occupies a large proportion in the forklift electrical components. Therefore, the cost reduction of the frame harness has played a great role in reducing the cost of building a car.
This paper mainly provides concrete implementation methods for cost reduction of frame harness from the aspects of material selection and design of frame harness.
2 Cost-Reducing Design
2.1 Localization
In recent years, with the progress of domestic manufacturers in R&D capability, process control and manufacturing technology, the gap between domestic parts and imported parts is gradually narrowing.
Take the Connector as an example, the common two-core plug-ins are mainly imported AMP and TE, and their quality and performance have been verified and recognized by the market. Similarly, the price of imported plug-ins is the highest among all categories, which also makes it difficult for enterprises to reduce costs. A few years ago, although there were many manufacturers of connectors in China, the appearance was deformed, the materials were inferior and the quality was unstable, which also affected the reputation and sales of domestic connectors.
In recent years, with the rise of domestic connector manufacturers represented by Tianhai, domestic connectors have reached the same level as imported ones in terms of IP grade, flame retardant grade, applicable wire diameter range and rated current. At the same time, domestic connectors are more advantageous in price than imported ones. For example, the imported piece 282080-1 (TE) is IP67, and its price is about RMB 4 yuan. The domestic piece DJ7021-1.5-21 with the same protection level is about 1~2 yuan cheaper, and its price advantage is obvious.
It is not difficult to find in the market that domestic forklift brands represented by Hangcha and Liucha are promoting the popularization of domestic connectors in engineering vehicles. While ensuring the performance, the cost is reduced, which is a good choice for enterprises to control costs.
2.2 Reasonable Application of Consumables
2.2.1 The Insulation Tape is Completely Wound Instead of Being Wound at Intervals.
The requirements of dustproof, waterproof, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. of the frame are different according to the different installation positions. For example, in the position close to the engine, the high temperature resistance of the wire harness protective material is required. For areas not protected by hood and side cover, the protective material of wire harness requires certain dustproof and waterproof performance. In areas without other specific requirements, only basic protection can be done outside the Wiring Harness.
Due to the characteristics of many lines and branches, the wiring harness of the frame is usually wound with insulating tape first, and the bellows with corresponding diameter is selected for protection outside according to the wire diameter.
Completely winding the outside of the wire bundle with insulating tape can protect the wire bundle, but it is a great waste of consumables to choose completely winding at all positions. Moreover, it is not necessary to apply the method of complete winding in the position with low dustproof and waterproof level. Through the rational layout of the wiring harness, the different positions of complete winding and interval winding can be distinguished, which can save the use of adhesive tape to the greatest extent and reduce the manufacturing cost of wiring harness.
2.2.2 Corrugated Pipes Shall be Purchased in Rolls.
Like corrugated tape, it is one of the most commonly used materials for wiring harness wrapping, and its usage amount is also very large in the frame wiring harness. Due to the high cost, inconvenient transportation and easy damage of only purchasing corrugated pipes of corresponding length, most wiring harness factories now choose to buy them in rolls, and the corresponding lengths are intercepted in the factory according to the needs. This not only reduces the transportation cost, but also reduces the material cost.
2.3 Optimization of Design
2.3.1 Optimization of Branches
Two simple branches which are close to each other are merged into one branch, which provides convenience for the actual production of the wire harness, reduces the difficulty of making the wire harness, saves the working hours and labor, and reduces the cost accordingly.
2.3.2 Optimization of Layout
1) Optimization of OPS Function Realization
In addition to introducing mainstream models, car-making enterprises often make differentiated customization according to the needs of customers. For example, general customers will choose OPS function, but OPS can be divided into general OPS and Australian OPS. Ordinary OPS function can start the vehicle as long as it detects that the driver is sitting on the seat. Australian OPS requires the driver to sit in the seat and fasten the seat belt before starting the vehicle.
Because the common OPS is widely used and the market demand is large, the wiring harness can be laid out as standard in the design. Australia OPS belongs to the specific needs of some customers, so it will be selected in the design. That is to say, the corresponding plug-in interface is reserved, and in the case of an Australian OPS order, it is realized through a transition line. This design avoids leaving a long section of wires in unusual configurations, resulting in the increase of wiring costs and the difficulty of wiring in the car.
2) Optimization of Horn Position
There are many branches of the harness near the ECU, and the electrical components such as relay, ECU and horn are concentrated together, which is easy to cause electromagnetic interference. The route optimization design can move the horn to the open position in the front left of the frame, which can make the path of the horn branch on the main harness shorter and reduce the use of wires.
At the same time, this design change makes the overall layout of the electrical components in the frame more reasonable, avoids too many branches of the wiring harness at the same position, and reduces the difficulty of actual manufacturing of the wiring harness.
2.4 Optimization of Component Selection
1) Selection of Fuse
The fuse is changed from the original medium fuse to the small fuse, and the corresponding fuse holder is also changed to the small fuse, which can reduce the cost without affecting the function. Commonly used 5A fuses are ATS5 (medium) and ATA5 (small), and the corresponding fuse holder models are ZC-912A-B and ZC-004C. The price of small fuse and corresponding fuse holder is cheaper.
2) Relay Selection
Relay is the most commonly used electrical component in the design of frame harness, and the price of relays of the same specification is different due to the difference of manufacturers or purchase channels. For example, the same flash relay with 24V DC and 130W contact current, the price of model SG252D is much more expensive than that of model SG25221W-130W(SJT) in 1 yuan. Therefore, SJT has more advantages in relay selection for harness designers.
2.5 Optimization of Fixed Mode
After the direction of the harness frame is determined, the next step is the problem of fixing the harness. The common fixing method of wire harness is bracket, and tie the wire harness to the bracket with tie. In this way, a bracket usually needs to be matched with two ties, one at the front and one at the back, so as to ensure that the wiring harness is firmly fixed. After the design is changed into a wire clamp, the manufacturing cost of the frame is further reduced, and there is no need to use a tie to fix it, thus reducing the use of consumables.
3 Conclusion
Under the background of cost reduction and efficiency increase, enterprises are taking various measures to achieve this goal. As a designer of frame harness, we, Kable-X, put forward different improvement measures to reduce the cost from the aspects of design, process and production. It has also been proved that cost reduction and efficiency increase can be achieved through localization, rational application of consumables and optimization of wiring harness design.
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