Analysis of automotive wiring harness lightweight, how to achieve lightweight?

Aluminum conductor development and application At present, aluminum materials in the field of high-voltage conductors and automotive low-voltage conductors has become the main rival of copper, although aluminum in the conductivity and safety performance is slightly inferior to copper, but with the high price of copper as well as the promotion of aluminum wires and technological advances, wiring harnesses have also begun to gradually adopt the use of aluminum wires. Aluminum wire promotion is also becoming a trend in the future development of automotive wire. Since 2005, the price of copper soared, both users and cable manufacturers are "looking at the copper sigh", and therefore have been trying to find its replacement. The world wire and cable from the fifties on three occasions to aluminum instead of copper program, such as the automotive industry now invests money to support the wire and cable industry to aluminum instead of copper research work, which in the past has never happened, indicating that the impact of rising copper prices has been very large. At present, the French automotive industry has begun to use aluminum core wire, the German automotive industry is also studying the use of aluminum conductors in the car core, lies in the lightweight considerations, due to copper and aluminum density specific gravity ratio: 3.29:1, in the current copper as the main conductive carrier of the wire harness wire in the case, if the aluminum line can be replaced by a copper line, in the car wire weight will also be greatly reduced. However, it must be mentioned that the conductivity ratio of copper and aluminum: 1:0.629, aluminum in the conductive properties or slightly weaker than copper. However, we can use automotive copper-clad aluminum-magnesium wires in accordance with some of the current French standards (NF) to reduce the weight of the wiring harness of the entire car. Copper clad aluminum magnesium density of 4.00g/cm3, copper density of 8.89g/cm3, the density ratio of about 1:2.2, therefore, 1000kg copper clad aluminum-magnesium alloy wire length will be equivalent to the length of 2200kg of pure copper wire. Now most of the automotive wire because of the consideration of the mechanical strength of the wire, the general minimum cross-sectional area are selected for the 0.5mm2, but from the current analysis of the Japanese and European car line harness wire, some models have begun to use the 0.35mm2 wire, 0.35mm2 wire instead of 0.5mm2 wire, in the same unit of length, the weight will save 30%. From the wire assembly structure to analyze, 0.35mm2 wire in the outer insulation layer and wire core diameter can meet the requirements of the mechanical properties of the wiring harness. At the same time, the world's top supplier of wiring harness Delphi Parker is also being implemented 0.13 mm2 wire, wire mechanical strength and terminal crimping has not been a problem, but 0.13 mm2 wire resistivity is larger, so the type of signals transmitted to all to consider. Delphi introduced the 0.13 mm2 wire has been used in some foreign models. But in the country due to consider the safety, process and use of risk and other issues, new products did not use this new wire. In view of the high price of copper, the wiring harness signaling wire is getting thinner and thinner will also become the trend.

Wire cross-sectional area selection when considering lightweight wire harness with the wire's outer insulation layer is also constantly undergoing technological innovation, so that the weight of the wire to reduce, improve performance. Currently at home and abroad, according to the wire skin, there are thick-skinned wire, shielded wire, coaxial wire, high-temperature hard-skinned wire, thin-skinned wire and so on. According to the standard to be divided into the main Japanese standard (AVSS, etc.), the national standard (QVR), the German standard (FLRY), the American standard and other major series. Among them, the German standard (FLRY) wire insulation skin is thinner, more flexible, accordingly the same wire diameter wire quality is relatively lightest. We can use the original bulky thick-skinned wire with the same standard requirements of the hard thin-skinned wire, and can pass the same current, in some of the signal fidelity requirements of high electronic equipment, electronic equipment suppliers usually require some excellent performance of the shielded wire for signal transmission, its requirements are usually much more than the actual demand, so from the price, cost considerations, we can be appropriate. With the same superior performance of the wire to replace the shielded wire and other heavy quality, high price wire, such as CAN bus, in the CAN bus physical layer definition, there are two kinds of wire can choose: shielded wire as well as twisted-pair wire, if the CAN system proposed to require the use of shielded wires, CAN bus involves the whole car ECU, due to the bus node branching is also relatively more, the shielded wire in this part of the weight caused by the weight of the bus is also obvious, but according to the actual situation. is obvious, but according to the actual situation, the CAN system developed at home and abroad are using 0.35 square twisted pair wires for signal transmission, and can fully guarantee the fidelity of signal transmission. Lightweight considerations in the wiring harness arrangement of the world's vehicle wiring harness arrangement from the wiring harness segmentation is basically divided into the overall type, functional segmentation, regional segmentation type and so on. Due to the different design ideas and process requirements of each vehicle factory, the wiring harness arrangement type is different, the European car system usually use the overall wiring harness arrangement, and the Japanese car to Toyota as a representative of the wiring harness arrangement is mainly based on the vehicle area to segmentation. While domestic, Indian, American cars, etc. is in accordance with the function and region to segmentation. From the point of view of the arrangement of lightweight to consider, the wiring harness of the overall type will be more advantageous, the overall type of wiring harness will be usually used in a single section of the instrument panel instrumentation, the bottom panel harness, roof harness and the engine compartment harness are integrated together, the middle of the savings of the instrument panel wiring harness and the bottom panel harness connection, the instrument panel harness and the engine compartment harness connection, the instrument panel harness and the roof harness connection of the connectors, and at the same time, it also saves the connectors related brackets. saves the brackets associated with the connectors. The second advantage is the Japanese car's regional segmented wiring harness arrangement, due to the Japanese car in the wiring harness design zoning design concept is more mature, the design of the car body is also tends to be modular, wiring harness connection, wiring harness arrangement, can be carried out in a more optimized design. Due to the modularity of the design to do a better job, a long time down the road, its wiring harnesses are fixed, connected to the idea of lightweight. The overall quality of the harness is also relatively light. 1, the impact of the bottom plate harness arrangement on the lightweight bottom plate harness arrangement can also be divided into H-type arrangement, h-type arrangement, E-type arrangement and other different arrangements, each arrangement of the lightweight of the harness is also a certain impact, according to the layout of the harness of the form of the letters to see the layout of the general shape of the arrangement, and these arrangements are in the floor of the body, the floor of the car these The weight of the wiring harness connectors and mounting brackets on the floor of the vehicle is also significant for the wiring harness. The following describes the impact of each arrangement on the lightweighting of the entire vehicle. h-type arrangement is a better arrangement of the wiring harness, because the h-type wiring harness arrangement takes care of the entire range of electrical appliances involved in the vehicle, and because of such an arrangement and the dashboard wiring harnesses are connected to the ends of a large amount of space reserved for the butt joints, but in the lightweighting of the aspect of the limitation of the h-type arrangement. Way to use the floor harness and instrument panel harness only leave an interface, the harness ends of the interface set into one, the harness and the floor butt joints at the high degree of integration, space reserved for compact, can reduce the weight of the floor harness to a certain extent, but if the pre-design definition of a better, the future change is not too much to go to the consideration of this way is better. 2, the cabin wiring harness arrangement of the lightweight impact of the engine compartment wiring harness layout also H-type arrangement, C-type arrangement, F-type arrangement. As the cabin fuse, relay box is generally integrated in the engine compartment wiring harness, such as the Japanese Toyota RAV4 car using H-type arrangement, and the fuse box to two, the wiring harness because of the need to open two holes on the front circumference, while the need for and the instrument panel wiring harness on the docking, from the number of parts, such an arrangement of the production out of the wiring harness weight is the heaviest. C-type arrangement is also better in terms of lightweight, C-type arrangement in the front enclosure only a hole, while only a fuse, relay box design, in the engine compartment on the right side of the electrical parts are not much, C-type arrangement is more reasonable, while saving a certain amount of wiring harness parts and wire length. Currently the most popular for the F-type arrangement, that is, the engine compartment wiring harness a branch from the engine compartment through the front panel, one is from the left side of the engine compartment forward past the arrangement, all the electrical equipment in series. This way of arrangement is reasonable, but from the production of the harness weight is a moderate program. The development trend of automotive wiring harness lightweight at present, CAN data bus is widely used, so that the wiring harness more simplified, more compact structure, both to reduce the weight, but also to reduce costs, and therefore has become a wiring harness lightweight development trend. Wiring harness technology is constantly developing, with the market demand is getting higher and higher, the lightweight harness is also imperative, the above content discusses the harness in the lightweight of some trends and the overall arrangement of the impact of the lightweight harness, the lightweight of the research and technology research is also endless.

Solution] How to realize lightweight automotive wiring harness? Introduction: At present, the concept of "automotive lightweight" has penetrated into all aspects of automotive manufacturing, such as plastic instead of steel to reduce the weight of the car, lightweight automotive interiors, lightweight automotive seats, etc., these design concepts represent the "automotive lightweight design" of the future development trend. These design concepts all represent the future development trend of "automotive lightweight design". And as hidden in the car interior like a car "nervous system" of the wiring harness, in the lightweight also has a lot to offer. Recently, at the 2014 International Automotive Components Key Technology Forum, this reporter had a face-to-face conversation with Ms. Kim Young-nam, the engineering manager of Delphi Packard's electronic and electrical system architecture, to learn more about Delphi's series of solutions for the research and development and application of fine gauge wires and aluminum wires, and to discuss the technological breakthroughs in the lightweighting of automotive wiring harnesses and the future development trend. Fine gauge wires and aluminum wires - innovative solutions for automotive wiring harness weight reduction As a leading global supplier of electronics and technologies for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and other market segments, Delphi always adheres to the concept of "safe, green and connected" in its technological research and development. Delphi Packard Electronic/Electrical Architecture Systems Division, as one of Delphi's five business divisions, carries out technological innovations in the areas of main wiring harness system assemblies, high-power wiring harness assemblies, etc., and devotes itself to providing lightweight automotive wiring harnesses with smaller outer diameters and lighter weights for the entire vehicle. According to Jin Yingnan, wiring harness is one of the heaviest and most complex components in the automobile. With the rapid development of automotive electronics, information technology, people's requirements for automotive electrical and electronic functions continue to improve, the car's small space placed in the electrical and electronic equipment has increased, the number of wires are also increasing accordingly. 1950, a car with only 50 wires; 2012, a car with 1,200 wires; I believe that by 2020 or even further into the future, the number of wires will continue to increase in the car. It is believed that by 2020 and beyond, the number of wires in a car will continue to increase. Delphi's new aluminum conductor Jin manager gave us a set of data: according to statistics, the current use of a high-grade car wire amounted to 2km, weighing about 20~30kg. Every 10% reduction in the weight of the wiring harness, fuel economy can be improved by 3%. If a car can exercise 20 miles (about 32km) for every gallon of gasoline consumed, then by exercising 15,000 miles (about 2,414km) per year, fuel economy improves by 3%, each person can save 22.5 gallons (about 85L) of gasoline per year. "Wiring harness weight reduction has a non-negligible role in helping to reduce the weight of the entire vehicle and improve fuel economy, and will be increasingly emphasized by automakers." Manager Kim said. In addition to the increase in the number of wires, the "cobweb"-like wire layout inside the car has become more complex, in this case, how to rationalize the wiring has become a major issue in the industry. For the design of automotive components, it is hoped that the wiring harness size is becoming smaller and lighter. Manager Jin said, "In terms of automotive wiring harnesses, Delphi's fine gauge wire and aluminum wire provide automakers with a simple, smart solution." Automotive wiring harnesses can be reduced in weight by 66% and 48% respectively "Automotive wires have been moving in the direction of finer gauge wires." In describing the development of automotive wiring harnesses, Manager Kim said, "10 years ago in the automotive engine compartment wiring harnesses, you rarely see 0.3mm2 and 0.35mm2 wires; 6 or 7 years ago, in the design of automotive wiring harnesses almost 45% 50% of the wires are 0.3mm2 wires. And what we're doing now is replacing those 0.3mm2 wires with lighter, thinner wires." Delphi in line with the "safe, green, interconnected" design concept developed 0.13mm2 halogen-free ultra-thin-walled wire, greatly reducing the weight of the wiring harness. According to reports, Delphi halogen-free thin-walled wire is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and other traditional wires, environmentally friendly alternative products, with more than thin-walled PVC wires more resistant to high temperatures, the layer of thinner wall, lighter insulation. 0.13mm2 wire is generally used in the switching signals, sensor signals, etc., the current circuit, compared to 0.3mm2 wire, single-wire OD is reduced by 40 percent, weight Reduction of up to 66%, and does not contain halogen and heavy metals, can be recovered for recycling. Manager Jin said that Delphi's halogen-free thin-walled wire has the industry's strongest resistance to pressure and damage, abrasion resistance is also significantly more than the American Society of Automotive Engineers and the International Organization for Standardization test standards, it also has a super fire resistance, because of its excellent performance in the industry is highly acclaimed. However, fine gauge wire has also encountered many challenges in practical applications. Manager Jin said, fine wire diameter wire in the electronics industry has many applications, but in the automotive industry applications, because the automotive working environment is relatively harsh, all the materials are in the vibration, humidity or dusty places, which is very high on the material and process requirements, the application of new materials to be well integrated into the existing process up. Delphi has adopted a series of innovative solutions to meet the challenges of these applications. Delphi aluminum conductor terminals and aluminum conductors first of all, 0.13mm2 wire tensile strength problems, Delphi used a copper-magnesium alloy, adding 0.2% of magnesium, greatly improving the mechanical strength of the wire. Now, Delphi 0.13mm2 wire has exceeded the tensile strength of 0.22mm2 and 0.35mm2 PVC wire. In addition, Delphi 0.13mm2 conductor does not directly use the traditional 0.3mm2 conductor terminal crimping, but the development of L-type terminals, the use of a high and low crimp wing technology, so that the electrical properties of the wire and the mechanical properties of the same crimp height at the same time to achieve the optimum. At the same time, in order to more popularize the application of 0.13mm2 wire, Delphi developed a new type of Double-X crimping process: 0.13mm2 wire stripping head stripped longer, it will be bent and crimped, this crimping method is equivalent to crimp 0.26mm2 wire, can be used directly with the existing 0.3mm2 terminal system, the application of a wider range. In addition to the use of fine wire diameter wire, in the conductor material application of the wire, Delphi after many comparisons, research, aluminum wire instead of the traditional copper conductor. Manager Jin explains why Delphi chose aluminum conductors: "Our choice of conductor material requirements are very strict, requiring that the conductivity of the material must be more than 58%, elongation of more than 8%, and the choice of the metal global reserves should be sufficient. According to the projected annual usage statistics, aluminum can be used for 100 years more than copper, its electrical conductivity is as high as 60% to 64%, and the use of aluminum conductors instead of copper, the weight of the harness can be reduced by 48%. Based on these advantages, Delphi chose aluminum conductors." It is reported that Delphi has been engaged in the development of aluminum conductors since 1969, and started producing aluminum conductors in 2012. For aluminum conductors in the air easy oxidation, electrical properties and mechanical properties are not stable and other issues, Delphi developed a terminal with a burr, the crimp wing of the terminal with a barbed, in the crimping process, the barbed will pierce the oxide film of the aluminum wire, and the conductor in the fresh aluminum contact, and the contact surface is in the absence of air contact, so the conductivity is better, and the barbed gouge aluminum, but also can correspondingly increase the mechanical Strength. To cope with the oxidation of aluminum conductors due to galvanic corrosion, Delphi has adopted a sealing process to cut off the contact surface of copper and aluminum with air to prevent oxidation. "A new technology, new products in the application process, encounter technical difficulties is unavoidable; as people overcome a difficult problem, the application of new technology is more and more extensive. Of course, this does not mean that all the wiring harnesses of the car will be new and old replacement. Like Delphi's 0.13mm2 wire is not an unlimited replacement for all wiring harnesses on the whole car, because 0.13mm2 wire has high resistivity and may not be suitable in places with high currents, and although it can replace signal wires, it can't replace power wires." Manager Jin finally concluded, "Delphi is ahead of other suppliers in the research and development and application of new wires, and has made great progress in the past few years. 0.13mm2 halogen-free ultra-thin-walled wires have been put into production, with manufacturing bases all over the world, and many domestic and foreign OEMs have many projects applying 0.13mm2 wires, and their applications are becoming more and more Mature and common. At present, the application of large diameter aluminum conductor is more and more extensive, there have been a number of models in the application, the next primary and intermediate aluminum conductor will also be widely used in various projects. We are ready to support our customers worldwide in the development and application of new conductors."

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