The terms “cable assembly” and “wire harness” are often used interchangeably, but they aren’t separate terms for the same product: They’re unique products with distinct manufacturing processes, and sourcing cable assemblies from a specialized wire harness manufacturer (or vice versa) will invite problems.
As dedicated cable assembly specialists who very occasionally also handle wire harnesses, we run into this confusion a lot. Which gives us a good perspective from which to guide your search for a right-fit supplier.
Physical differences between cable assemblies and wire harnesses
The primary physical difference between a cable assembly and wire harness comes down to layout complexity. Cable assemblies are typically point-to-point, single connector cables, sometimes including loopbacks or multiple legs.
Wire harnesses, on the other hand, are large, multi-faceted wiring systems. They’re defined by a complex arrangement of many wires and cables routed on boards for efficient on-site installation.
Both wire harness and cable assemblies can perform the same functions and meet the same electrical specifications. But this simple layout difference leads to unique manufacturing processes.
Two highly unique manufacturing processes
Cable assemblies and wire harnesses require significantly different manufacturing processes with unique challenges. Therefore, they have their own unique markets for suppliers, especially at high volumes.
Cable assemblies are produced by connecting cable to terminals on their ends. Suppliers specializing in cable assembly production use automated tooling tailored to the exact connections they’re making.
To manufacture cable assemblies using discrete wire, a cut, strip, terminate (CST) machine is fed a long spool of wire and a reel of terminals. It cuts, strips and crimps the connection in a few simple movements, no hand crimping necessary.
Where multiconductor cable is used, automated equipment cuts the cable to length and removes the jacket before operators apply terminals with tabletop strip/crimp machines.
Some aspects of cable assembly production still need human hands, like tooling setup, hand soldering, terminal plugging, heat shrink application, cable tie installation and labelling.
Wire harness production looks remarkably different from cable assembly production.
Routing wire and cable onto boards is time-intensive and manual. Suppliers that specialize in wire harness production use assembly lines from companies like Schleuniger or Komax that move the harness boards from station to station along a line of human operators, each responsible for a handful of wires.
When the harness is simple enough, the production of the individual cables can be automated like a cable assembly. But most often, the wires are trimmed, stripped, crimped and plugged by hand.
Cable assembly vs. wire harness manufacturers
A best-fit cable assembly supplier will have the proper tooling and experience with your particular needs and application.
The most successful wire harness manufacturers have specialized facilities and access to a large, cheap labor force.
Since the wire harness manufacturing process requires so much space and labor, most facilities don’t produce them at all. Some cable assembly suppliers are capable of producing very simple wire harnesses, but they struggle with more complicated harnesses.
Multi-Tek’s capabilities
Multi-Tek specializes in custom cable assemblies in volumes over 100. While we produce some relatively straightforward wire harnesses for some customers, we aren’t tooled for volume production of complex wire harnesses and recommend seeking a specialist for those projects.
Feel free to read about who we help and how.
Looking for help with a custom cable assembly?
If you are searching for a custom cable assembly manufacturer, you need a partner with expertise in producing cables for your application and the in-house capabilities to meet your precise needs.
So let us know what you need. If it’s not in our wheelhouse (like a complex wire harness), we’ll let you know. If you’re still in the design phase, we’d love to talk shop and specs.
