Auto-ancilliary companies — especially those supplying wire-harnesses, cables, connectors and assemblies to OEMs — face mounting pressure to deliver higher volumes, shorter lead-times, consistent quality, and lower costs. At the same time they must manage more complex harnesses, multiple variants, high automation demands, and the risk of downtime due to material handling or feeding issues.
The Cable Pre-Feeder System from enProducts was developed for exactly this kind of environment: to automate and improve the pre-feeding/unwinding of cable harnesses from spools, reduce shock & vibration to downstream equipment, and ensure a continuous, reliable feed into automated processes.
Key Decision-Maker Pain Points
When speaking with heads of manufacturing / automation / process engineering in auto-ancillary companies, the typical pain-points include:
- Feeding reliability / material handling issues: Frequent stoppages because cable spools unwind jerkily, motors stall, change-overs take long, or feed is inconsistent.
- Downtime & losses: Each unplanned stop in the feeding line costs production time, labour, scrap, lost output, and may delay delivery to OEMs.
- Quality / variability issues: If cable feed is jerky, downstream machines (cut-strip-crimp, connector insertion, over-moulding, harness assembly) may produce defects, misalignments, or require re-work.
- Increased variant complexity: As harness complexity grows (longer runs, more branches, special shielding/insulation), ensuring smooth unwinding becomes harder.
- Space / layout constraints: Factories are moving to higher automation and tighter floor space; the pre‐feeder must integrate seamlessly with buffer units and downstream automation.
- Shock/vibration impact on downstream equipment: Mechanical shocks or feed interruptions from the spooling/unwinding unit transmit to expensive downstream machines, leading to higher maintenance or breakdowns.
- Skill / maintenance burden: If the feeding equipment is difficult to operate or maintain, it increases labour costs or leads to longer change-over times.
- Cost pressure: The overall goal is to reduce cost per harness (labour + scrap + downtime), increase throughput and improve yield.
3. Solution Overview – Cable Pre-Feeder System
Here’s how the solution from enProducts addresses these pain-points:
- The system is engineered to automatically unwind cable/harness from spools with smooth, motor-driven control of the spool feed. enProducts
- It incorporates a buffer unit which ensures a continuous length of cable is available for the downstream machine even when the unwind motor temporarily stops, and serves as a shock-absorber between the motor and external machine. enProducts
- Key features include an advanced sensor system to detect the need for cable feed and switch off the motor when not required, along with easy access design for maintenance, and simple operability. enProducts
- Specifications: Input power approx 3 kW single phase, machine weight approx 1 tonne, drive system: 2× motors (5HP & 3HP) enProducts
- The system is designed for integration into wire-harness manufacturing lines (automotive), enabling reliable, high-throughput feed, minimising line stops and protecting downstream equipment.
4. Benefits & Value Delivered
For an auto-ancilliary supplier implementing this system, expected business benefits include:
- Increased throughput: With continuous feed from the buffer and automatic motor control, less downtime and smoother feed translates into higher output per shift.
- Reduced downtime / stoppages: The buffer absorbs feed interruptions, and the controlled unwind reduces motor stalls or abrupt transitions – meaning less unplanned stoppage.
- Better downstream machine performance & yield: Smooth feed reduces shock/vibration impact on downstream machines, lowering defect rates, re-work and maintenance costs.
- Easier maintenance / change-overs: Designed for accessible maintenance and simple operation, reducing technician time and change-over losses.
- Lower cost per harness: Through increased yield, less scrap, less labour for stoppage recovery, and more consistent throughput, overall cost per unit harness falls.
- Scalable for complexity: As harness variants grow, this system supports reliable feed so manufacturers can keep pace with OEM complexity demands.