Cell phones, tablets, GPS devices and other mobile electronics are smaller, thinner, lighter and more powerful than ever. Wireless Internet connections, RFID and Bluetooth have become essential features of these devices, necessitating highly complex transmission mechanisms.

Ray Berst is the founder and president of Components Express Inc. (CEI), a Woodridge, IL-based manufacturer that specializes in custom machine-vision cables.

A key component of any electronic or electrical system is the cable assembly or wire harness—and yet it is typically one of the last components to be addressed.

Without a sculptor, a piece of clay or marble can never reach its full artistic potential. Rotary, V and die blades in automatic cutting and stripping (CAS) machines serve a similar role to help conductive wire and cable achieve its full electric potential as part of a harness.

Contract manufacturer Electronic Technologies International Inc. (ETI) has been in business for more than 25 years. With approximately 75 employees working in two shifts, the company provides printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, wire harness assembly and box build services at a 32,000-square-foot, ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facility in Fort Atkinson, WI.

Harness design software interfaces with other software tools to reduce development time and prevent errors.

When routing a wiring harness in an aircraft, engineers should pay attention to the proximity of the wires to hydraulic lines, mechanical cables and other parts.

When Boeing was founded 100 years ago, engineers were concerned about how to use wiring to brace wings. As aircraft became more complex, engineers turned their attention to solving numerous wire harness assembly challenges. Many of their innovative solutions have been chronicled in the pages of ASSEMBLY magazine.

SAE AS85049 Specification was established to standardize shield termination bands.

Peel-and-stick labels, heat-shrink tubing and plastic carriers are the most reliable ways to identify wires in harnesses and electrical panels.