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The wires in both simple and more complex harnesses are usually bound together with materials such as heat shrink, cable ties or electrical tape. A more complex harness may have wires going in multiple directions and include many different termination components.
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They may or may not be terminated by one or more connectors. The most basic example of this would comprise of several wires of the required length, which are bound together to save space and prevent damage during use.
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A wiring harness is used as a method of keeping many wires tidy while following a predefined layout. We will start with wiring harnesses as these are the most simple form of wiring system. We will now look at the various wiring systems individually to highlight the differences between cable assemblies, wiring harnesses and wiring looms. Again, this is an insulator made from material such as rubber or thermoplastic. A cable is a collection of wires, usually with different coloured sheaths for easy identification, that are bound together inside an external cover. A wire is a single conductor made up of a single or multiple strands of conductive material, usually Copper or Aluminium, which is protected by a non-conductive sheath generally made from thermoplastic. Whilst it is true that all three have similarities in that they transfer electronic power or data signals between two points while also ensuring the wiring is kept tidy, as you will see below each option has its own unique features and benefits.įirstly, one area which is sometimes misunderstood but is quite an important step in understanding the three wiring systems is the differences between a wire and a cable. However, they are in fact very different and it is these differences that dictate how they are used. Cable assemblies, wiring harnesses (or wire harnesses) and wiring looms are all terms that are used interchangeably.
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