Reverse Engineered X-Ray Cable Assemblies for Medical Device
Challenge
One of Epec’s existing customers that had previously worked with our team needed help with another medical device cable project. The very first project centered around an issue the customer was having with another cable shop, where quality and delivery performance were lacking. In that situation, the customer had incomplete technical data and was unable to reproduce the wiring harness on their own.
After several meetings, sending Epec a functional sample, and a thorough review of the customer’s application, Epec was able to help quote and reproduce said wire harness, helping the customer address a critical material shortage.
Based on the overall success of the first project, this customer again reached out to Epec regarding another quality issue they were experiencing with an unrelated cable. The customer approached Epec and contacted our sales team to review the application and to determine if this was something that Epec would be able to support. This new opportunity was for a highly complex x-ray cable that did not have complete documentation, which limited their ability to solicit vendors.
The customer needed parts and had no supplier that could manufacture this for them. And they needed to find somebody quickly who could do this type of reverse engineering and manufacturing that Epec has offered.
In the current situation, the customer was buying completed wire harnesses from a competitor and was having quality issues that included intermittent connections, open circuits, and what the customer described as a loose fit with the mating panel. The customer also complained that the price was extremely high compared to our competitor, and they were looking for a cost reduction. Because the customer did not have all the design data for the cable itself, they were unable to effectively troubleshoot the cable to determine the exact failure mode and root cause of the issues.
Our team explained to the customer that, yes, we could support their request, but first, we would need various specific items to ensure our success. Our sales teams asked for a few functional samples, damaged samples that Epec would be able to dissect, and the mating panel itself. We needed a complete snapshot of the cable in question and how it mates, to be able to properly study the design and suggest a path forward.
Example custom harness similar to the X-ray cable required.
Solution
Once the samples were in our possession, it was clear that this was not a standard cable and required several custom interconnects. The first step in the process was to document the cables' form, fit, and function. On one end was a high-density custom connector made of stainless steel with various-sized terminals and a spring-loaded locking collar. With an overall length of fifteen feet, the opposite side had a mix of simpler connectors, such as ring terminals and single row housings. Included in this opposite end were several multipin connectors that needed to be positively identified from major connector OEMs such as TE and Molex. It was evident that the primary design challenge would be reverse engineering the stainless-steel connector and properly identifying the unknown connector housings.
Epec’s team of mechanical and electrical engineers was able to completely reverse engineer the harness by mapping the pinout of the custom stainless-steel connector and correlating each pin to a specific leg of the fanned-out cable assembly. This was a simple but tedious process using benchtop tools such as a handheld multimeter and temporary wire markers.
Next, we created a fully defined solid model of the connector using SolidWorks, allowing our team to develop the design and verify the proper fit. With a tight tolerance keyway, locking collar, and spring-loaded sleeve, creating the solid model was a vital step in the overall process to reproduce this harness.
Lastly, Epec analyzed the wire AWG size, conductor count, strand count, and conductor coating to match the exact requirements the customer needed. Epec then created a preliminary Bill of Materials (BOM) and a set of drawings to estimate the cost and labor to manufacture the harness.
Custom multiconductor cable, similar to the bulk cable required.
Once our BOM and preliminary drawings were completed, we sent these to the customer for review to make certain that our design aligned with their expectations. After some back and forth clarifying details such as the pinout and the use of equivalent simple connectors, the customer approved our team to release the design and tool up our solution.
Due to the high complexity of this build, our timeline was about 7 weeks to make the initial samples. The pacing items for our delivery were the custom extruded multiconductor cable and the machined stainless-steel connectors. Once all shortages were relieved and in-house, Epec was able to assemble our samples and ship them to the customer for evaluation.
Result
Our initial samples were well received, with some minor adjustments needed to improve the pin fit and the locking collar. Electrically speaking the Epec reverse engineered samples functioned properly and were approved. The customer worked with Epec to explain the fitting issues with our samples and we were able to adjust our design, allowing for an improvement in the connector fitment.
Another wave of samples was launched with the changes requested and after completion these shipped in about 5 weeks. The customer explained that the improvements were successful, and they completely approved of our final design. With this approval, Epec was able to release the open production balance of harness and fulfilling the contract.
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