Cable assembly: process, methods and what determines the price
Cable assembly turns cable from the reel into ready to install cables and wiring harnesses. We explain step by step what happens, which methods are available and how buyers recognise a good quote.
What is cable assembly?
Cable assembly is the production of ready to install cables, leads, cable sets and wiring harnesses to customer specification. Cables, contacts, connectors, seals and protective material become components that the customer can install without rework.
A cable assembly supplier handles not only the production, but often also material procurement, testing and documentation. At Powertune this includes the complete development and design on request.
The work steps at a glance
- Cutting to length: the cable is cut to the length given in the drawing or the cutting list.
- Stripping: the insulation is removed over a defined length without damaging the strands. With sheathed cables the outer sheath is stripped back as well.
- Fitting the seal: with sealed connectors a single wire seal is fitted onto the cable before crimping.
- Crimping: the contact is permanently pressed onto the conductor with a tool.
- Further connections: soldering, tinning or ultrasonic welding, depending on the application.
- Assembly: contacts are inserted into connector housings, cables are bundled, protected and marked, for wiring harnesses on the assembly board.
- Testing: electrical testing for continuity, short circuits and correct pin assignment, plus further tests depending on the requirements.
How these steps run in our plant in Kitzingen is shown on the Machinery page.
Fully automatic, semi-automatic or by hand?
Which machine is used depends above all on the quantity, the cable and the contact. Fully automatic cable processing machines cut to length, strip, fit seals and crimp in a single pass. That is ideal for recurring cables in larger quantities. Semi-automatic machines take over individual steps while an operator feeds the cable; they change over quickly and suit samples and small lots.
Large cross sections, cable lugs, special contacts and the final assembly of wiring harnesses remain manual work, with the right tooling and the same testing as in series production.
What determines the price of a cable assembly
A sound price can only be quoted once a drawing, a bill of materials or a sample is available. These factors have the strongest influence on the effort involved:
- Quantity and lot size: the setup effort is spread over more parts
- Number of cables, contacts and branches
- Contact and connector type, seals and special parts
- Availability of the material and the manufacturers' minimum quantities
- Protection and marking: corrugated tube, braided sleeve, heat shrink tubing, labelling
- Scope of testing and documentation, for example a high voltage test or PPAP
Our tip: state realistic annual quantities and call-off volumes in your enquiry. That allows material and production to be planned economically.
How to recognise a good cable assembly supplier
- Process monitoring during crimping, for example crimp force monitoring
- Electrical testing of every wiring harness and test records on request
- Traceability of material and process
- In house design, or at least technical advice on cables and connectors
- Flexibility from sample to series production, without having to change supplier
- A certified quality management system, for example to ISO 9001
How Powertune puts these points into practice is described under Cable assembly and Testing & documentation.
