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One of the most evident trends in automotive sector is miniaturization. It is related to considerable benefits due to the potential of mass reduction, cost reduction and efficiency improvement. It involves many different automobile components and most of them are facing challenges to achieve the targets defined by car makers and final consumers. Specifically for wiring harness, it seems to be many manufacturing and process challenges to be surpassed in order to fully perceive the benefits expected with miniaturization, internally and externally. So this article aims to present an overview of literature as well as reporting of experts on this issue mentioning some of the challenges that global automotive wiring harness manufacturers are facing. Subjects as assembly automation, terminal connection and small gauge cables are discussed in the article and also a general overview of how those problems are being addressed in order to meet customer requirements.

Nowadays Design of Experiments (DOE) has been used intensively in industrial environment as an important tool to identify critical factors related to a certain output characteristic. Another relevant characteristic is that the DOE can also be used as a strong resource on “physical system modeling process”, as presented in this paper. It was possible to generate a transfer function relating the output and the main input factors and in sequence a Monte Carlo simulation was used in order to predict the process capability. It was possible to observe a strong convergence between predicted results and real world results.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) has become one of the most important tools for innovation project development. It has been used for several companies and good results are being reported as effect of the methodology. This paper aims to present an application of DFSS on an automotive technology development process. It was possible to listen to the “Voice of customer”, translate it into measurable parameters, generate potential concepts and finally identify the most adequate technology. The use of Design for Six Sigma methodology was shown very efficient to technology prospect. The structured frame work and focusing in two main points (being them first “Get the right design” and then “design right”) are the strengths of the methodology.