Final Major Project

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MECH 4580 - Advanced Computer Aided Model and Manufacturing Final Major Project Report Tutorial on Wire Harness Design on Creo 10 Rohan Koshy Thomas – c3371548

Abstract: The report on manual wire harness routing within CREO 10 presents an invaluable resource for MECH 4580 students aiming to develop comprehensive skills in CAD software, particularly CREO. This tutorial delves into the art and science of organizing and designing complex electrical wiring systems. By exploring the step-by-step manual wire harness routing process, students gain a deep understanding of this critical aspect of modern engineering. The report not only provides an in-depth exploration of CREO's capabilities in electrical design and harness routing but also highlights the practical benefits for students within the MECH 4580 course. It equips students with the knowledge and expertise required to create organized, efficient, and reliable wire harness designs. Whether novices or experienced CAD users, this report serves to diverse skill levels. The comprehensive content involves connector selection and configuration, accessing cabling tools in CREO, creating harness assemblies, routing wires, bundling cables, and addressing errors and conflicts. Manual cabling offers precise control, flexibility, customization, and reliability in designing complex electrical systems, which align with the key learning objectives of the MECH 4580 course. In conclusion, this report serves as a valuable resource for MECH 4580 students, offering a comprehensive guide to manual wire harness routing within CREO 10. It emphasizes the practical skills students will develop through the exploration of this crucial aspect of modern engineering. As CAD technology advances in CREO 10, students are equipped to drive excellence in design and manufacturing while mastering the art of wire harness routing.

Table of Contents Abstract: ..................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Project Description ........................................................................................ 4 2. What and Why is Wire Harness Routing used? ..................................................... 5 2.1. What is Wire Harness Routing? ..................................................................... 5 2.2. Why is Wire Harness Routing Essential? ....................................................... 5 3. The Manual Routing Process Routing Cables Manually ......................................... 6 3.1. Connector Selection ...................................................................................... 6 3.2. Connector Configuration ............................................................................... 6 3.3. Accessing Cabling Tools in CREO .................................................................. 7 3.4. Creating Harness Assembly .......................................................................... 8 4. Checking for Errors and Conflicts ....................................................................... 11 4.1. Error Detection Tools ................................................................................... 11 5. Benefits of Manual Cabling ................................................................................. 11 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 12 7. References ......................................................................................................... 12 Table of Figures Figure 1: Connector Design part ...................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Entry point axis alignment for the part ............................................. 7 Figure 3: CREO Cabling Interface ..................................................................... 8 Figure 4: New Harness Operation Creation ...................................................... 9 Figure 5: Model Tree ......................................................................................... 9 Figure 6: Connector Designation in CREO ...................................................... 11 Figure 7: Spool Creation Dialog box ............................................................... 12 Figure 8: Route Cable Dialog box ................................................................... 13 Figure 9: Route Selection in the Interface ...................................................... 13 Figure 10: Spool Tuning for bend factors ....................................................... 14 Figure 11: Path Location Addition Option ....................................................... 14

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1. Introduction Electrical wire harness routing is a critical aspect of modern engineering and manufacturing processes. It involves the precise arrangement and organization of electrical wires within various systems and devices. Wire harness routing is a crucial component of modern engineering, and the use of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software has revolutionized the way engineers and designers create, manage, and optimize wire harnesses. In this tutorial, we will explore manual wire harness routing specifically within CREO 10, a powerful CAD tool renowned for its capabilities in electrical design and harness routing. This tutorial serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the principles, techniques, and best practices for creating efficient and effective wire harnesses using CREO 10. This tutorial will equip you with the knowledge and practical skills needed to master manual wire harness routing in CREO 10. We will delve into the software's tools and functionalities that facilitate the creation of organized, efficient, and reliable wire harness designs. Whether you are a novice looking to expand your skill set or an experienced CAD user seeking to optimize your wire harness routing capabilities, this tutorial will provide to your needs. 1.1. Project Description This project focuses on providing a comprehensive tutorial on manual wire harness routing within CREO 10, a prominent Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Wire harness routing is the art and science of efficiently organizing and designing complex electrical wiring systems within various products. As part of this project, we will cover the techniques that are essential for harnessing the full potential of CREO 10 in manual wire harness routing. These insights will not only simplify the design process but also contribute to the creation of reliable, high-performance electrical systems in a variety of industries. The tutorial will follow a structured approach, presenting step-by- step guidance to facilitate an understanding of wire harness routing within CREO 10.

2. What and Why is Wire Harness Routing used? 2.1. What is Wire Harness Routing? Wire harness routing is a fundamental discipline in modern engineering and manufacturing processes. It encompasses the precise organization and arrangement of electrical wires within various systems and devices. This practice involves designing the path, securing, and managing a complex network of wires to ensure their efficient functioning within a wide range of products, from automobiles and aerospace systems to consumer electronics and industrial machinery. 2.2. Why is Wire Harness Routing Essential? Wire harness routing plays a pivotal role in numerous industries, and its significance stems from several key reasons: 1. Optimal Space Utilization: Wire harness routing ensures that electrical wires are neatly and compactly arranged. This, in turn, enables the space within devices and systems to be utilized optimally, which is crucial in industries where size and weight constraints are vital, such as aviation and automotive manufacturing. 2. Enhanced Reliability: A well-organized harness minimizes the risk of wire damage, disconnection, or interference, all of which can lead to critical system failures ensuring that wires are securely routed and adequately protected is essential for maintaining the functionality and safety of complex systems. 3. Maintenance and Repair: Properly organized wire harnesses simplify maintenance, repair processes, troubleshooting and servicing becomes more efficient, by reducing downtime and associated costs. 4. Electromagnetic Compatibility: In applications where electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) are concerns, wire harness routing can mitigate these issues. Proper separation and shielding of wires can help prevent interference between adjacent wires, enhancing system performance and safety. 5. Cost-Effective Manufacturing: Efficient wire harness routing streamlines the manufacturing process. It reduces the risk of errors during assembly, decreases the time required for wiring, and minimizes material waste, ultimately contributing to cost-effective production. 6. Compliance and Safety: In safety-critical industries like aerospace and automotive, regulatory compliance and safety standards are of

paramount importance. Proper wire harness routing helps adhere to these standards, ensuring the safety and integrity of the end product. 3. The Manual Routing Process Routing Cables Manually 3.1. Connector Selection Connectors serve as the interface between wires and various components within the assembly. Ideally, you should use highly detailed connector models, which may be available from manufacturers like Amphenol or other suppliers. These models include precise geometry, such as pins, pin cavities, and cable entry points. In the process of creating wire harnesses, selecting the right connectors is critical.  Launch Creo Parametric and open your assembly or part where you want to configure connectors.  Ensure you have the 3D models of the connectors you intend to use. If you don't have them, you can create them in Creo or obtain them from a supplier or external source.  If you need to create a new connector model, go to 'File' > 'New' > 'Part' and create the connector's 3D geometry. Save it with a descriptive name. Figure 1: Connector Design part 3.2. Connector Configuration The process of adding a connector during manual wire harness routing involves the following steps:

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 Open the connector part or assembly.  Within your connector models, ensure that you have a coordinate system that is typically named "entry." This coordinate system is pivotal for defining the starting and ending points of wire harnesses.  For each entry port, define a coordinate system. Go to 'Insert' > 'Reference' > 'Coordinate System' and select the entry port you created. This establishes the orientation and location of the entry point. Figure 2: Entry point axis alignment for the part  The Z-axis of this coordinate system should align with the intended direction of wire routing, ensuring that the wires follow a logical and efficient path.  To introduce connectors into your assembly, use the "Assemble" command.  Begin by selecting the desired connector model from your library.  Choose a cylindrical reference, typically a feature on the connector, that will serve as the connection point with other components. Additionally, select a flat, planar surface to ensure the connector's proper orientation.  Position the connectors correctly in the assembly, ensuring that their coordinate systems match the direction of wire routing. The Z-axis should point along the desired wire route.  It's essential to confirm that the orientation you choose aligns with how the connector will be physically oriented within the assembly.

 For assemblies that involve various connector types, repeat the assembly process for each unique connector. This step ensures that your wire harness design accommodates a variety of connectors. For efficient connector addition in your harness design, use Creo Parametric's component interface for same connector types.  Right-click on the connector within the assembly, select "New Location," and pick the necessary references. This efficient process allows you to add identical connectors without repetitive manual adjustments. 3.3. Accessing Cabling Tools in CREO Within Creo Parametric, the cabling tools are typically housed within the “Application” tab in "Cabling" menu. This section shows where these tools are located and how to access them.  Go to the 'Applications' tab in Creo Parametric and select 'Cabling' to access the cabling module. Figure 3: CREO Cabling Interface  Upon entering cabling mode, you'll notice that many icons on the ribbon may appear grayed out. This is because you haven't yet created a harness, which is necessary for cable routing.  Click on the "Create Harness" button in the cabling menu. This action will initiate the process of generating a new harness part where you'll define the cable routing.  A "Create Harness" dialog box will appear. In this dialog, you'll specify the subtype, which should be set to "Harness."  Provide a name for the harness in the designated field (e.g., "Harness 1"). Then, click "OK" to create the harness part.

Figure 4: New Harness Operation Creation  After creating the harness, you'll notice it in the Model Tree at the bottom of the interface. It's marked with a green diamond, indicating that it is the active harness. You can have multiple harnesses within a single assembly, and you can switch between them by using the "Modify Harness" button. Figure 5: Model Tree 3.4. Creating Harness Assembly Creating harness is a critical step in creating a wire harness design. This process involves guiding individual wires from one connector to another, ensuring that they follow a defined path and adhere to specific design constraints. In this section, we'll provide a detailed process for routing wires in Creo Parametric. The following can be done as follows:

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1. Prepare the Sub Assembly : Ensure that your assembly is properly set up, connectors are in place, and you have access to the necessary wire types in your library. 2. Display Coordinate Systems : To route wires effectively, you should display coordinate systems on your connectors. Coordinating systems will guide the routing process and ensure that the wires follow the correct paths. You can set up a single-entry coordinate system for all wires or use multiple coordinate systems, depending on your specific routing requirements. 3. Create a Skeleton Model : If your wire harness is part of a larger assembly, consider creating a skeleton model. In this skeleton model, you can include data-sharing features, such as shrink-wrap features and copy geometry features, to capture references for wire routing. 4. Designating Connectors : To designate connectors, ensure that the "Cabling Info" is visible in the Type column.  Add a column for "Designation" by going to the "View" tab, selecting "Columns," and enabling this option.  Use the "Auto Designate" dropdown menu to designate connectors. Select "Designate" from the list and then choose the appropriate components.  Turn on the visibility of coordinate systems to designate entry ports for connectors.  Now select the entry port and now a dialog box appears asking for the internal length of the cable in connector.  Give the required value for the dialog box above, which open another set of options of choosing the port type from wire, round and flat and that should complete this set by selecting ‘done’.

Figure 6: Connector Designation in CREO 5. Creating a Wire Spool : To create this feature, follow the steps below:  To route cables, you'll need a wire spool. Click on the "Spools" button in the cabling menu.  In the "Spools" dialog box, click "Create" to define a new wire spool. Here, you'll specify various parameters for your spool.  Choose the required type of spool from the given options and choose the wire option which should open another dialog box.  This dialog box provides an option to add a name for the spool (e.g., "SPOOL", as in the figure) and customize setting the thickness, minimum bend radius, and other relevant parameters as needed.

Figure 7: Spool Creation Dialog box  Optionally, assign a color to the spool if necessary. You can also add additional information, such as linear density by clicking the view section above which provides access to necessary parameters required.  Once you've defined your wire spool, click "OK" to create it. 6. Creating a New Wire Feature : Routing each wire typically involves creating a new wire feature. Following these steps:  Firstly, make sure the axis display is turned on as this determines the entry and exit points of route cables.  To begin manual cable routing, click on the "Route Cables" button.  In the "Route Cables" dialog box, click "New" to create a new wire feature.  Provide a descriptive name for the wire feature, making it easy to identify in your design and choosing the required spool from the dropdown we created before.  Also choose a Route type from the dropdown menu and choose ‘simple route’ or adjust the route later on.

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Figure 8: Route Cable Dialog box  Choose the starting and ending locations for the wire. These should correspond to the connectors where the wire will be attached. Figure 9: Route Selection in the Interface  Creo Parametric will automatically generate a wire route that follows the path between the two points. The software will account for any design constraints you've set and display a preview of the route.  Ensure that you follow minimum bend radius guidelines to avoid damaging the wires.  After the initial cable routing, you may need to fine-tune the path for accuracy.

Figure 10: Spool Tuning for bend factors  Toggle between the center line and thick cable display to visualize the routing more clearly.  For different routes, this can be added by right clicking a point in the wire and adding location which could alter the change the path of wire.  Insert locations to adjust the route precisely. This allows you to specify points along the cable path.  By adding location, this can be adjusted by addition of axis and reference required within the line to follow the path to route the wire.

Figure 11: Path Location Addition Option  As you route the wire, make sure that it avoids interference with other components in the assembly and follows the desired path.  Ensure that all cables follow the desired paths and meet your design specifications. 7. Completing the Wire Routing : Once you're satisfied with the wire route, click to confirm, and complete the routing process. The software will create the wire route feature in your design. 8. Repeating for Multiple Wires : If your design includes multiple wires, repeat the process for each wire. This may involve routing wires from various starting and ending points to create a comprehensive wire harness. 9. Bundling Cables : For organization and to prevent tangling, cables are often bundled together. This step is crucial for a well-structured wire harness. Here's how to bundle cables:  Create a bundle spool in the assembly with the desired properties, including size and shape.  Use the "Bundle" command in Creo Parametric.  Select the location points to define the path for the cable bundle.  Choose the wires you want to include in the bundle. You can add multiple wires to the same bundle.  Creo Parametric will generate a bundled representation of the selected wires. 10. Review and Adjust : After routing all wires, review the entire harness design to ensure that wires are correctly positioned and follow the desired paths. Creo offers several enhancements for cable routes,

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such as splitting and merging harnesses, refitting, and reordering reference designators, and adding cables while in the cabling application. 4. Checking for Errors and Conflicts 4.1. Error Detection Tools Creo Parametric offers advanced error detection tools to identify various issues in wire harness designs. These tools include the ability to check for: 1. Multiple Topographies : Creo Parametric allows you to detect errors related to multiple topographies within your design. Topographies define the spatial configuration of wires and cables in your assembly. 2. Closed Loops : The software can identify closed loops within your wire harness design. Closed loops may lead to electrical or mechanical issues and need to be resolved. 3. Unterminated Wire Ends : Creo Parametric also checks for unterminated wire ends. Unterminated wires can disrupt the functionality of the harness and need to be addressed. 4. Debug Panel : The Creo interface includes a debug panel, which allows you to visualize the identified errors. For instance, if there are multiple topographies detected in your design, the debug panel will list these topographies. This feature simplifies the process of locating and addressing errors. 5. Benefits of Manual Cabling Manual routing of cable harnesses in Creo Parametric offers several advantages that contribute to the overall success of complex wiring systems. Manual routing provides designers with a high degree of precision and control over the cable harness placement and configuration. This level of control ensures that cables are routed exactly as intended, with the ability to adjust paths, bend radii, and other parameters to meet specific design

requirements. The manual routing process offers a high degree of flexibility, enabling designers to adapt to changing design requirements and unexpected challenges. This level of customization enhances the efficiency and performance of the wiring system. 6. Conclusion Manual wire harness routing in Creo Parametric 10 is a fundamental aspect of electrical system design. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the manual wire harness routing process in Creo Parametric 10. It underscores the importance of understanding electrical components, project initialization, accessing cabling tools, specifying connectors, and the step-by- step manual routing of wires. The report highlights the benefits of manual cabling, including precision, flexibility, customization, and reliability, in designing complex electrical systems. It also emphasizes the significance of quality assurance tools and error detection capabilities. This knowledge is essential for engineers and designers working with wire harnesses, ensuring efficient, accurate, and reliable electrical designs. 7. References [1] “Error Handling is Improved in Creo Harness Manufacturing | Creo 6.0,” www.youtube.com . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfTphltopbU (accessed Oct. 23, 2023). [2] “Creo Parametric - Manual Cabling Process,” www.youtube.com . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRCE1vJ5LsQ&list=PLRhPac0z_f- HeJvCPYWZKT4PMjoNy5Sxr (accessed Oct. 23, 2023). [3] “Creo Parametric - Manual Cabling - 2023 Update,” www.youtube.com . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqnRGm-54vg&t=293s (accessed Oct. 23, 2023).