Q5D
Q5D's CY1000 machine.
Wire harness automation equipment manufacturer Q5D has announced the launch of its CY1000 5-axis CNC additive manufacturing (AM) robotic cell.
The CY1000 has been designed to address the automation of electrical connections in increasingly complex products.
Per Q5D, traditional wiring harnesses are heavy, ‘space-hungry’, and costly, whereas its CY1000 product is said to add components, connections, and conductors automatically, economically and securely into metal, ceramic and polymer products or components.
Harnessing its Electrical Function Integration process, Q5D believes its CY1000 AM robotic cell eliminates the need for separate and fault-prone wiring harnesses, while also improving reliability, minimising design constraints, and cutting costs. The self-contained CY1000, according to Q5D, can be co-located with the final assembly, eliminating the costly transportation of heavy harnesses.
With a robust, steel-frame gantry and robotic platform, the CY1000 is designed for stand-alone use and easy integration as part of a process line, where it offers full-depth access for robotic loading. Using a variety of specialised tools to add bare and insulated wire, each machine can extrude a wide range of polymers, from Nylon to PEEK to Kydex. Electrical connectors and components can also be picked and placed, while the CY1000 can also create 3D shapes and connect them to components with precision integrated wiring.
Users of the CY1000 will be able to form larger components up to 1m in diameter thanks to a 1000 mm x 300 mm working area, as well as multiple smaller parts by moulding or stamping, before being loaded into the manufacturing cell. In the manufacturing cell, electrical functions as specified by the designer using Siemens NX CAD/CAM solutions.
The CY1000’s external dimensions are 2300 mm wide x 2170 mm long x 2320 mm high, while its head and bed axes move at up to 70 revolutions per minute. Q5D will customise each CY1000 per its intended application, and supply the machine with polymer and wiring end effectors. The wiring may be bare or insulated copper, up to 3mm in diameter. Conductive ink end effectors will be available later this year, according to the company.
“Almost all wiring harnesses in this $200B+ market are made by hand at present,” commented Q5D CEO Steven Bennington. “With the demand for wiring driven by electrification, the internet of things, and net zero, automation is the only way to keep pace.”