Atsushi Fujisaki , Norikazu Samitsu
Abstract
There has in recent years been a marked trend in the automobile industry toward modular construction, and each manufacturer has applied a variety of approaches in the effort to reach a solution. As a parts manufacturer, Furukawa Electric has come to grips with this trend and is proceeding with the development of more effective modular elemental parts. Specifically we can anticipate that wire harnesses, which have traditionally taken the form of bundles of conductors, will take on a flat profile, and we have for some time been proceeding with study and development work. In the work discussed here we have developed flat harnesses for use with flexible flat cables (FFCs), and succeeded in using them in vehicles. The adoption of the flat harness profile greatly reduces the use of protective parts and gives greater routing freedom, but the cost of parts goes up and connecting problems arise. The point is how to reach solutions, and by solving these problems and launching mass production we were able to gain the technical expertise to derive specifications responsive to vehicle requirements and develop manufacturing equipment.
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