Wire harnesses are typically assembled manually. A full-scale 2D drawing of the harness is printed with a plotter and attached to a piece of plywood. Assorted clips and nails are then attached to the board at key locations on the drawing, such as ends and breakouts. Assemblers then manually route the wires from point to the next like a giant game of connect the dots.

When it comes time to assemble a new harness, the process starts all over again with a fresh board. The old board—with all its clips, nails and fixtures in place—gets put away until it’s needed again. A high-mix shop might keep dozens or even hundreds of such boards on hand. That’s no small expense. What’s more, storing all those boards can be a nuisance. They take up a lot of space, and moving them on and off the shop floor represents an ergonomic hazard.