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Modular Harness Board System Reported to Save Costs and Storage Space

Panduit’s Quick-Build™ is a modular harness board system with specially shaped holes that accept repositionable accessories. It is said to improve the productivity of wire harness build time by up to 18 percent versus the plywood board and nail method.
(Photo: Panduit/Business Wire)

TINLEY PARK, Ill.—A new modular harness board system could help wire harness manufacturers reap cost savings of up to 65 percent over conventional plywood, nail layout, and board builds, according to a release from Panduit Corp., a provider of wire management products. Panduit’s patent-pending Quick-Build™ Harness Board System is a modular, expandable system, composed of 1-ft x 1-ft (305mm x 305mm) reusable grid tiles. The tiles have specially shaped holes that accept repositionable accessories to improve the productivity of wire harness build time by up to 18 percent versus the plywood board and nail method, according to Panduit.

The specially designed Quick-Build mounting pegs lock into the grid tiles with just a twist. Used along with the Quick-Build mounting platforms and nail holders, which accept Panduit conventional wire harness layout accessories and industry-standard testing fixtures, these components create a modular harness board system.

“Low-Volume-High-Mix (LVHM) manufacturers achieve the greatest savings due to reduced material costs—up to 65 percent of layout and board builds,” said Bob Krisel, vice president of Panduit OEM Solutions, in the release. “By reducing the number of bulky plywood boards, the Quick-Build™ Harness Board System delivers more than 50 percent in storage space savings.”

By elevating harness routing above the grid tiles, the Quick-Build System allows wire harness manufacturers to use the Panduit Automatic Cable Tie Installation Tool (PAT). The PAT System is reported to be six times faster than conventional cable tie installation systems, further improving productivity.

Whether the need is to build a variety of wire and cable assemblies to meet different customer specifications or for prototyping new harness designs, company representatives say that the more harnesses are built with the Quick-Build System, the more wire harness manufacturers’ profitability increases. This is due to a number of factors, including improving storage efficiency and reducing costly square footage from storing plywood harness boards not in use; reducing labor needed to retrieve and store plywood harness boards; decreasing setup time as compared to the plywood board and nail method; and reducing repetitive work and improving safety from use of hammer and nails.