Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses

The replacement of automotive wiring harnesses with large-area flexible printed circuits (FPCs) would help to reduce the vehicle weight and emissions. To help clarify what a future large-area FPC interconnection harness should be capable of, a detailed design exercise to meet the engineering specifi...

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Main Authors: Patrick Webb, Wayne A. Jaggernauth, Michael C.W. Cottrill, Paul Palmer, Andrew West, Paul Conway
Format: Default Article
Published: 2010
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/7703
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id rr-article-9572570
record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-95725702010-01-01T00:00:00Z Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses Patrick Webb (1258326) Wayne A. Jaggernauth (7202345) Michael C.W. Cottrill (7123916) Paul Palmer (1253382) Andrew West (1259121) Paul Conway (1249635) Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified Automotive wiring harnesses Large-area flexible printed circuits Vehicle weight Emissions Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified Mechanical Engineering The replacement of automotive wiring harnesses with large-area flexible printed circuits (FPCs) would help to reduce the vehicle weight and emissions. To help clarify what a future large-area FPC interconnection harness should be capable of, a detailed design exercise to meet the engineering specification of the instrument panel wiring harness of a specific midrange passenger car was carried out. To demonstrate the added value of using an FPC, intelligence in the form of active circuitry was incorporated in the designs. Two generic architectural concepts were pursued. The first, a single large-area FPC, supported the wire harness geometry, all point-to-point interconnections, and current ratings up to 4 A. However, the panel size was too large to be manufactured on existing automotive FPC process lines. The second, intended to be a collection of smaller FPCs that could be manufactured on existing automotive FPC process lines, was found not to be practical as originally conceived. A physical implementation of the single large-area FPC design was made in stages at different company sites using various pieces of equipment, some of which are not normally used for FPC or electrical circuit manufacture. Modified versions of the equipment could be used to create a large-area automotive FPC manufacturing line. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/7703 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Design_and_construction_of_large-area_flexible_printed-circuit_automotive_electrical_interconnection_harnesses/9572570 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
institution Loughborough University
collection Figshare
topic Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Automotive wiring harnesses
Large-area flexible printed circuits
Vehicle weight
Emissions
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
Mechanical Engineering
spellingShingle Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified
Automotive wiring harnesses
Large-area flexible printed circuits
Vehicle weight
Emissions
Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified
Mechanical Engineering
Patrick Webb
Wayne A. Jaggernauth
Michael C.W. Cottrill
Paul Palmer
Andrew West
Paul Conway
Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
description The replacement of automotive wiring harnesses with large-area flexible printed circuits (FPCs) would help to reduce the vehicle weight and emissions. To help clarify what a future large-area FPC interconnection harness should be capable of, a detailed design exercise to meet the engineering specification of the instrument panel wiring harness of a specific midrange passenger car was carried out. To demonstrate the added value of using an FPC, intelligence in the form of active circuitry was incorporated in the designs. Two generic architectural concepts were pursued. The first, a single large-area FPC, supported the wire harness geometry, all point-to-point interconnections, and current ratings up to 4 A. However, the panel size was too large to be manufactured on existing automotive FPC process lines. The second, intended to be a collection of smaller FPCs that could be manufactured on existing automotive FPC process lines, was found not to be practical as originally conceived. A physical implementation of the single large-area FPC design was made in stages at different company sites using various pieces of equipment, some of which are not normally used for FPC or electrical circuit manufacture. Modified versions of the equipment could be used to create a large-area automotive FPC manufacturing line.
format Default
Article
author Patrick Webb
Wayne A. Jaggernauth
Michael C.W. Cottrill
Paul Palmer
Andrew West
Paul Conway
author_facet Patrick Webb
Wayne A. Jaggernauth
Michael C.W. Cottrill
Paul Palmer
Andrew West
Paul Conway
author_sort Patrick Webb (1258326)
title Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
title_short Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
title_full Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
title_fullStr Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
title_full_unstemmed Design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
title_sort design and construction of large-area flexible printed-circuit automotive electrical interconnection harnesses
publishDate 2010
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/7703
_version_ 1797287081158901760