What
is the Railway Wiring Harness?
Wiring harness can be defined as the joining of electrical wires or cables by the use of various materials such as vinyl, rubber or conduit. The wiring harness of any system is mainly used for the transmission of electronic signals and electrical power. The application of wiring harness transcends the electrical and power industry, they are also applied in automobiles, machinery, military, aerospace and construction. Wiring harness or cable harness are often designed and produced in such a manner that it fits the purpose and requirement for which it is intended. The manufacturing process of wiring or cable harness is crucial to its reliability and durability when applied in different industries. The type of machine that is utilized for the production determines how well it will be produced. There are several simple wire-working tools that are effective, however, when demand is high and the manufacture is for commercial purposes, these simple tools or machine will be substandard and could result to poor production of wiring harness. Therefore, heavy duty wire cutting and wire stripping machines are necessary for the production of the wiring or cable harness. Other types of machines and equipment that are needed include; wire harness equipment, automatic crimping and cutting machine, electrical cable manufacturing machinery, wire harness assembly equipment, etc. There are so many places, online and offline, where you can purchase these machines, however, Cheers Electronics Limited is the best online shopping platform you can order them. You can visit our website on www.terminal-crimping.com to view different kinds of machines, you can also contact us or visit us through our contact address on the website.
The application of wiring harness is presently extended to the construction of railways. One of the most effective and user-friendly mode of transportation is the Railway transport. Yearly, experts and professionals in the transportation system seek new technological advancements that would improve the operations of the rail transport and also yield a high consumption of energy. Prior to these innovative ideas and researches by experts, there is huge amount of energy consumed by trains during operations, which is due to the high number of electronic systems within the trains. Hence, the designers and manufacturers of these trains are designing new and efficient systems that will reduce the amount of energy consumed which operating under safe conditions. The introduction of driverless trains that are designed with internal energy efficient systems have proven to bring the era of rail systems with less energy consumption. The wiring harness used in the manufacturing of the electronic systems which are then used as part of the components during the construction of the railway transportation system play a crucial role. In other words, the performance of the trains indirectly depends on how outstanding the wiring harnesses are developed. Wiring harness is also employed in the construction of connected trains, these types of trains are notably one of the most important in the rail transportation industry. The wiring harness that is used in the production of these trains are mostly strong due to the purpose and use of connected trains. Most connected trains are used for conveying large number of persons, much loads and they are also known to provide comfort and safety to passengers.
There are different trains in the railway transportation where there is a need for wiring harness, they include; Metro/Monorail, Light Rail, and High-speed Rail/Bullet Train.
Challenges of the Railway Wiring Harness
Notwithstanding the importance of wiring harness in railway transportation, they are several issues that limits the use of wiring or cable harness. Some of these factors include;
Fluctuating Price of Copper
Most of the wiring harness are manufactured using high conductive materials such as copper, aluminium. These materials are often in high demand in various industries such as electricity, infrastructure, and aerospace, hence, the causes the prices of these materials, especially copper, to be unstable. This instability or fluctuations of the price of copper is primarily owed to the huge gap between the high demands and the low supply. Since the railway industry require a large amount of copper for the production of wiring harness which is to be used for manufacturing trains for the railway transportation, this fluctuation of the price of copper poses as a limitation. The production of wiring harness in the railway industry is predetermined by certain factors such as the labour cost, material cost, transport cost and other. Other than the unstable price of copper, meeting the cost demands of these factors proves to hinder the railway wiring harness. Also, the use of industrial equipment can also be an inhibitor to the production of wiring harness for railway transportation.
Durability Issues
In the railway transport, the rolling stock and the supporting structure needs several electronic systems to function optimally. Cables and wires are responsible for delivering the electric power required by these systems. These systems in the railway transport include the lightening system, brake system, traction system, transmission system and others. The systems use wiring harnesses to distribute both low and high voltage powers to the rolling stock. Most times, due to the huge machinery of the trains, the wiring harnesses are exposed to massive loads and this affects their durability. Aside the large loads, sometimes consistent heat on the wiring harness also reduces its performance. Hence, in the use of wiring harnesses for the construction of railway transportation systems, manufacturers are faced with the durability of the wires or cables due to load and heat.
Environmental Challenge for Wiring Harness
Changes in the environment is also another great cause of concern in the use of wiring harness for railway systems. Most rail systems that are powered with the use of wiring harness tend to malfunction after sometime due to exposure to moisture, as this tends to cause the wires or cables to corrode. For example, one of the effect of corrosion on wiring harness in railway systems is that is leads to the degradation of the flow of voltage and current. This fault causes a dysfunctional performance in certain systems, such as the electronic systems, that are connected to the wiring harness. Sometimes, wiring harnesses in most trains tend to develop faults whenever there are slight changes in the surrounding environment.
