Design and automation of electrical cable harnesses testing system

The design, development and application of an automated electrical cable harness testing system (ECHTS) with the capability of testing diverse cable harness configurations is presented. The ECHTS is able to test up to 32 conductors via an interchangeable connector, expandable to an additional 32 conductors through the use of an expansion board, detecting open- and short- circuit and incorrect pinning in a harness under test. The use of an LCD screen to display the status of a harness ensures faults are easily understood and displayed in the ECHTS, while providing a more comprehensive communication of detected faults compared to conventional testing and/ or measurement systems. Compared to conventional systems, the ECHTS showed an improvement of testing times for a 1:1 and a one-to-multiple connector configuration, to 73% and a 15%, respectively, and a short operator's learning time.

Automated summary

The automated electrical cable harness testing system presented is capable of testing diverse cable harness configurations, improving testing efficiency and reducing operator's learning time. It detects faults accurately and communicates them comprehensively, surpassing traditional testing and measurement systems.