An apparatus includes an extruding device configured to dispense a dielectric material though an orifice, a wire feed device configured to feed a conductive wire through the orifice, and a cutting device configured to sever the wire. It also includes an electronic controller configured to control the extruding device, the wire feed device, and the cutting device. The electronic controller commands the extruding device to dispense the dielectric material though the orifice, the wire feed device to feed the wire through the orifice, and the cutting device to sever the wire, thereby forming a dielectric substrate encasing a plurality of wires. The electronic controller further commands the extruding device to form an opening defined in the substrate in which plurality of electrically conductive wires is exposed and a location feature on the substrate located with a positional tolerance less than or equal to 1 mm relative to the opening.

A method of twisting a pair of wires includes the steps of arranging a first wire parallel to a second wire along a longitudinal axis, securing ends of the first and second wires, and gripping outer surfaces of central portions of the first and second wires. The inner surfaces of the central portions of the first and second wires are in contact with one another. The method further includes deflecting central portions of the first and second wires orthogonally from the longitudinal axis and rotating the central portions of the central portions of the first and second wires, thereby twisting the first and second wires about one another.

There is provided a wiring harness assembly comprising a main trunk cable assembly, a branch cable assembly and at least one connector. The main trunk assembly defines opposite terminal ends and comprises main trunk wires. The branch cable assembly defines opposite terminal ends and comprises branch wires. The connector connects the main trunk cable assembly and the branch cable assembly. The connector comprises an outer housing with an inner wiring harness positioned therein. The wiring harness comprises main trunk wire segments and branch wire segments interconnected at mutual connecting points. The main trunk wire segments define terminal ends connected to the main trunk wires at one of the terminal ends of the main trunk cable assembly. The branch wire segments define terminal ends connected to the branch wires at one of the terminal ends of the branch cable assembly.

A robotic system for laying out a specified wiring harness. A robotic arm is configured to arrange a plurality of wire segments along the harness support surface. A system controller is configured to direct the robotic arm to arrange each of the plurality of wire segments on the harness support surface along a specified wire route. A preparation device can label one or both ends of each wire segment as they are being laid out on the support surface. The labeler can automatically apply adhesive labels as flags at selected locations along the length of the wire segment. In a method of making a wiring harness, the robotic arm positions pins on a harness support surface to define wire routes and then arranges at least one wire segment on the harness support surface along each of the wire routes.

A wire harness manufacturing system includes a display unit, a wire cutting machine that draws an electric wire from a wire feed reel and cuts the electric wire to a predetermined length, a control unit that directs the display unit to display a wire laying image and wire work identification information for identifying a work regarding each electric wire, the wire laying image including a plurality of wire images showing the plurality of electric wire in the laid state and the wire work identification information being displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding wire image, and a memory unit that stores the wire laying image and work instruction information so as to correspond to the wire work identification information, the work instruction information including cut length of the electric wire. The control unit sends the cut length information to the wire cutting machine.

A wiring harness assembly includes a plurality of electrical conductors having wires enclosed within insulative sheaths that are integrally formed of an electrically insulative material. The assembly also includes a lattice support structure that is attached to the insulative sheaths at multiple locations. The lattice support structure is configured to maintain a desired shape of the assembly. The lattice support structure is formed of filaments that may be formed using an additive manufacturing process The filaments may be arranged such that lattice support structure defines a plurality of hexagonally shaped apertures. A process for manufacturing the wiring harness assembly and an apparatus configured to manufacture the wiring harness assembly is also presented.

A method of sealing a wiring-harness includes the steps of: a) dispensing a length of a sealing-tape onto a platform, the sealing-tape having a first-surface and a second-surface opposite the first-surface. b) separating a plurality of wire-cables from a portion of the wiring-harness. c) applying the plurality of wire-cables to a first-half of the first-surface of the sealing-tape. d) folding a second-half of the sealing-tape over the separated plurality of wire-cables such that the second-half overlays the first-half. e) pressing the second-half of the sealing-tape such that the second-half contacts the first-half between the separated plurality of wire-cables, thereby forming a cable-band. f) coiling the cable-band into a generally cylindrical-shaped seal. g) compressing the cylindrical-shaped seal isostatically such that interstitial-voids within the cylindrical-shaped seal are reduced in size. An apparatus for sealing a wiring-harness is also provided.

A wire harness production supporting device configured to produce a wire harness by in turn laying out a plurality of electric wires on a wire laying out drawing. This wire harness production supporting device is composed of a time recording section configured to, each time one of the plurality of electric wires is laid out, store a time at which the one of the plurality of electric wires has been laid out, in a storing section, and a progress status administrating section configured to obtain a progress status of the production of the wire harness based on the time at which the one of the plurality of electric wires has been laid out having been stored in the storing section.

Apparatus for robot motion control and wire dispensing during automated routing of wires onto harness form boards. The robot includes a manipulator arm and a wire-routing end effector mounted to a distal end of the manipulator arm. The wire-routing end effector is configured for dispensing and routing a wire along a path through form board devices mounted to a harness form board. The wire-routing end effector is moved along a planned path under the control of a robot controller. An end effector path is provided with a set of processes that enable rapid, even fully automatic, development of robot motion controls for routing wires on harness form boards. The system uses a measurement encoder on the end effector that is routing individual wires on a wire harness form board to learn the length of each wire and its length variation.

A device for inserting wires into a wiring harness connector includes a light source and an assembly to cause rear illumination of a particular pin cavity of a plurality of pin cavities of the wiring harness connector by light from the light source. Rear illumination of the particular pin cavity indicates the particular pin cavity where a selected wire is to be inserted into the wiring harness connector based on an identification of the selected wire.