A method is described that is suitable for automated use of peg apparatus and an electrical wire harness peg board. The pegs are utilized on a wire harness peg board during the assembly of a wire harness, and are particularly well suited for use in an automated assembly of the electrical wire harness where a constant upward, downward or lateral tension is desired without altering the free ends of each wire of a bundled wire harness.

A wire harness manufacturing system including a plurality of processing zones and configured to manufacture a wire harness by using a subassembly including a plurality of electrical lines to each of which a connection component is attached includes a conveyance device provided along the plurality of processing zones and including: work boards in a number at least corresponding to the number of the plurality of processing zones; a circulation conveyer configured to sequentially convey each work board in a horizontal state from an upstream side to a downstream side on a downstream conveyance path along the plurality of processing zones and then return the work board from the downstream side to the upstream side on an upstream conveyance path; and a raiser configured to set the work board to a stand-up state in which one of edge parts extending in a conveyance direction of the work board is positioned on an upper side of the other edge part in the work board, and to set the work board in the stand-up state to the horizontal state.

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.

A wire harness producing method configured to produce a wire harness by arranging a plurality of display devices end to end, each including a display portion and a bezel arranged around a periphery of the display portion, displaying a wire laying-out drawing on the display devices, and laying out an electric wire along the wire laying-out drawing. The method includes compartmentalizing a two-dimensional image of the wire harness into display regions to be displayed on the display portions of the display devices respectively and non-display regions corresponding to the bezels of the display devices respectively, with the display regions and the non-display regions conforming to sizes of the display portions and the bezels respectively, trimming the two-dimensional image to create wire laying-out image data composed of only the display regions, and displaying the wire laying-out drawing on the display devices, based on the wire laying-out image data.

Methods and apparatus for temporarily holding one end of a wire on a harness form board during automated transfer from one robot to another robot. The apparatus includes a wire holding device which is designed to facilitate the transfer of a wire end from a first end effector of a first robot to a second end effector of a second robot. The wire holding devices have different structures, but share the common feature that opening of the wire holding device (to enable wire insertion) involves applying a contact force which overcomes a spring force that urges the wire holding device to be closed. The end effectors are designed and their movements are controlled in a manner such that the moving end effector applies the contact force necessary to overcome the closure-inducing spring force being exerted.

A wire harness manufacturing system including a plurality of processing zones and configured to manufacture a wire harness by using a subassembly including a plurality of electrical lines to each of which a connection component is attached includes a conveyance device provided along the plurality of processing zones and including: work boards in a number at least corresponding to the number of the plurality of processing zones; a circulation conveyer configured to sequentially convey each work board in a horizontal state from an upstream side to a downstream side on a downstream conveyance path along the plurality of processing zones and then return the work board from the downstream side to the upstream side on an upstream conveyance path; and a raiser configured to set the work board to a stand-up state in which one of edge parts extending in a conveyance direction of the work board is positioned on an upper side of the other edge part in the work board, and to set the work board in the stand-up state to the horizontal state.

Methods and 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 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.

Systems and methods for designing and assembling form boards with attached wire routing devices for use in wire bundle assembly. The assembly method comprises: (a) establishing a coordinate system of a form board having a multiplicity of holes; (b) using a computer system to determine locations of form board devices of different types with reference to the coordinate system of the form board based on engineering data specifying a wire bundle configuration; and (c) fastening the form board devices of different types to respective holes of the form board having centers closest to respective locations determined in step (b). The form board devices may be inserted robotically or manually.

Systems and methods for designing and assembling form boards with attached wire routing devices for use in wire bundle assembly. The assembly method comprises: (a) establishing a coordinate system of a form board having a multiplicity of holes; (b) using a computer system to determine locations of form board devices of different types with reference to the coordinate system of the form board based on engineering data specifying a wire bundle configuration; and (c) fastening the form board devices of different types to respective holes of the form board having centers closest to respective locations determined in step (b). The form board devices may be inserted robotically or manually.