The strategic alliance with Harness Expert will bring considerable potential to both domestic and international markets. It will allow EPLAN to address new industry segments, such as equipment engineering and specialized technology for the rail, automotive, aviation, telecommunications, and medical technology sectors. At the same time, there is growing demand within EPLAN's existing customer base for the implementation of wire harness connections, as the number of circuit board-based units in control cabinets and devices continues to increase. This new software is a perfect complement to EPLAN Electric P8, which has previously handled the engineering of conductor wires and sheathed cables in control cabinets and field components. Customers will benefit from this integration, as it will provide support at every stage of the engineering process, from planning and engineering to the design and production of wire harnesses.
EPLAN plans to distribute the software internationally under the name "EPLAN Harness Expert" starting in the fall of 2012.
Open to the IT market,
Harness Expert is a user-friendly software that covers all aspects of cable engineering and displays the most common cable harness design and pre-wiring processes in 3D. The system generates all 2D production documents, significantly expanding the possibilities for importing and exporting to third-party systems for design, management, and production. The integration between EPLAN Electric P8 and Harness Expert provides all the essential information for cabling: conductor specifications, source and destination information, harness and socket assignments, and more. This integrated workflow greatly reduces engineering time and costs.
Unique workflow: Mechanical systems and cable harness design.
Harness Expert streamlines cable harness design: Import the 3D model from a CAD system, check routing and other design aspects such as fixings, cable ties, and necessary safety measures, and calculate lengths in the digital model. This eliminates the tedious and costly process of building prototypes. As an alternative to importing, it offers simpler options. For example, if a cable harness is prepared in an imported 3D model, the 3D model and cable harness design can be passed to the mechanical design department. The advantage: any design flaws in the cable harness can be detected in the virtual model and resolved without the need for a physical prototype. If 3D models are unavailable, a cable harness can be designed quickly and easily using
Harness Expert's 3D editor.
reports on work
processes for calculating times and costs. Data can be transferred directly to cable finishing systems such as Komax. To validate the final design, Harness Expert offers numerous practical testing and verification functions for bend radii, fill levels, cable lengths, bare wire harnesses, and connectors. The goal is to identify potential inconsistencies and errors early on, before prototype production, and simplify corrections.
What is a cable harness?
A cable harness is a set of conductors, typically with pins or terminals at their ends, to create electrical connections to components and devices. It is considered a passive device. By securing the conductors together, e.g., by wrapping them with tape, inserting them into protective sheaths or hoses, or placing them in cable glands, each conductor is secured in a bundle and can be treated as a single cable. This protects the conductors from dirt, heat, and mechanical stress, ensuring their electrical properties throughout the product's service life. Unlike conventional (sheathed) cable, cable bundles are developed on a project or application basis, depending on the required connections. The main advantages of cable bundles are optimized space and weight within the installation; they offer ideal conditions for meeting connection requirements and allow for pre-adjustment and mass production, even in small batches.
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