Wire Carrier and End Effector for Variable-Length Wire Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wire harness manufacturing processes are labor-intensive and inefficient, requiring substantial manual manipulation due to variability in wire lengths, leading to long production times and significant work-in-process buffers.
Innovation Solution
The use of wire carriers and end effectors that include support structures, coil and end holders, and retaining devices to automate the handling of wires of variable lengths, enabling consistent positioning and transport of wires from preparation to assembly systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If traditional manual manipulation methods are used to handle wires of variable lengths, then flexibility in handling different wire lengths is maintained, but labor intensity and production time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The wire is divided into two functional segments: a coiled portion for compact storage and transport, and a breakout length portion for manipulation and assembly. The carrier device separately holds the coil and the breakout length, allowing independent handling of each segment. This segmentation enables automated handling while accommodating variable total wire lengths.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire is transformed from a linear configuration into a coiled three-dimensional form with a controlled breakout length extending from the coil. This dimensional change allows the wire to be compactly stored on the carrier while maintaining accessible ends for assembly operations, resolving the conflict between compact transport and manipulation flexibility.
2Productivity
If wires are transported in traditional packaged form, then protection during shipping is achieved, but substantial work-in-process buffers are created due to sequential processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
Wires are pre-coiled and pre-positioned on carriers with breakout lengths already prepared during wire preparation. This preliminary action allows wires to be staged in advance in a compact, organized manner, enabling downstream assembly operations to proceed continuously without waiting for wire manipulation or packaging/unpackaging cycles, thereby reducing work-in-process buffers.
3Ease of manufacture
If individual wires are prepared and assembled separately in traditional processes, then customization and quality control are improved, but the number of non-value-added steps increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple traditional process steps into a unified carrier-based system. Wire preparation, coiling, and initial positioning are combined into a single carrier-loaded unit. This merging maintains quality control capabilities while eliminating separate packaging, shipping, and unpackaging steps, reducing the total number of process steps.
Data Source
AI summary
A wire carrier for transporting a wire includes a support structure, a coil holder, a first end holder and a second end holder. An end effector for transporting the wire includes a support structure, a first retaining device, a second retaining device, a third retaining device and an interface member. A method for transporting the wire includes transporting the wire from a wire preparation system to a wire assembly system using a wire carrier on a wire transport system. The wire includes first and second ends. The wire preparation system formed the wire in a coil with a breakout length between the coil and the first end and another breakout length between the coil and the second end. The method also includes transferring the coil with the first and second ends from the wire carrier on the wire transport system to the wire assembly system using an electro-mechanical manipulator.