The Challenge
In electrical harness design, flexibility is essential to ensure the harness fits within the vehicle environment without interference. For one major OEM, designers were struggling to assess the spatial envelope required by a harness while it is routed between two fixed points. The traditional process involved manually creating bounding surfaces and iteratively adjusting them during each design iteration. This approach was slow, error-prone, and dependent on individual expertise.
Our Solution
Goken developed a specialized CATIA macro, referred to as the Rugby Ball Tool to automate the process of creating a flexible bounding surface along a wire harness. Built using CATIA V5, VB, and EKL, the tool allows designers to input a harness curve, specify a start point and an endpoint. The macro then uses these inputs to generate an elliptical surface that represents the physical “envelope” or maximum possible motion path of the harness.
This elliptical bounding surface became an important guideline for downstream clash analysis. Once the surface was created, it could be used to automatically detect potential clearance issues, eliminating the need for trial-and-error measurements. The tool also accounted for elliptical focal points to provide a realistic and precise estimation of the harness's behavior under motion or assembly variations.
The Impact
The Rugby Ball Tool dramatically improved the efficiency of harness path analysis. The effort that once took hours was reduced to seconds. Designers no longer needed to manually construct bounding geometry for each variation. The review process was reduced by over 80%, and human error was virtually eliminated. More importantly, it enabled faster iteration during design reviews, allowing mechanical and electrical teams to make confident decisions based on accurate, repeatable geometry.
Why Choose Goken for Harness Simulation Automation?
Goken bridges the gap between design complexity and engineering clarity through smart automation. Our custom tools integrate deeply with CATIA workflows to simplify high-effort processes like flexibility modeling, clash detection, and routing validation. With expertise in VB, EKL, and CAA, we help OEMs eliminate repetitive engineering task and further drive accuracy, consistency, and time savings.
