Manufacturing Processes of automotive high-voltage wire harnesses: State of the art, current challenges and fields of action to reach a higher level of automation

Abstract

Electromobility, a fundamental transformation within the automotive industry, is characterized by sharply rising sales figures for electric vehicles and requires new technologies. These are associated with increasing quality requirements and financial pressure.Today’s manufacturing processes of high-voltage wire harnesses are part of the new technology and determined by a high level of manual work reaching up to 85% of the added value in manufacturing. The rationalization potential exhibited by the automation of manufacturing has not been fully exploited. Nevertheless, automation is the key-enabler to meet all requirements of the transformation in manufacturing.This paper identifies research gaps and obstacles to a sustainable increase in the level of automation in manufacturing. First, this paper classifies the high-voltage wire harness in the overall context of an electric vehicle, then it describes the state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and analyzes where the manufacturing complexity of the component is originated. Selected survey results reveal obstacles to further automation, while a review of existing automation solutions shows where complexity can already be controlled today. Based on a review of methods to increase manufacturing efficiency, we determine research gaps that require an in-depth investigation to approach a higher level of automation within the manufacturing of an automotive high-voltage wire harness.