As a member of electrical design teams in Caterpillar's Building Construction Products division:
- Designed, prototyped and installed wiring harnesses for Backhoe Loaders, and Small Track Type Tractors (bulldozers) at locations in the US and Japan.
- Managed the development of lighting systems for roading and work area illumination
- Constructed prototype control handles for field testing
- Developed the component parts of a wireless security system
Here are some examples (images 1 - 4) of harness designs done in Pro/E. This process allows development of the harness on the solid model of the vehicle including connectors, splices, etc.
The modeled harness is "flattened." This flat model can then be tweaked in to a shape that is used on a "nail board" for making the harnesses. This flat model is displayed in 1:1 scale in an engineering drawing that can be printed out to become the basis for the "nail board." All the tables that identify connectors, locks, terminals, etc. are located where the actual components lie. And a complete automated bill of material is created. Image 5 is a harness made by these techniques for a track type tractor. Shown installed under a prototype cabin. Image 6, 7 & 8 are of a project to make a wireless security system for key switches. The insert molded coil fits about the key switch on the dashboard with the integral connector behind the panel. We chose to insert mold the terminals rather than use wires which make good weather sealing difficult. A known failure mode is water getting into the coil and causing corrosion by way of the interface of wire insulation to potting compound. Insert molding and good sealed connectors eliminates the problem. I managed the development of a set of lights by Flexible Lamps of the UK for backhoe loaders: a rear lamp that could be adjusted to light the digging area of the backhoe, and the set shown in images 10 - 12 which mounted in rotational molded roof above the wind screen for illuminating the road and loading area ahead. I reviewed Flexible Lamp's proposals, made revisions, commissioned prototypes for review by team management, and set up testing, and field reviews.
The design used an inner thermoplastic carrier for lamp mounting plates, retention means for the connector, and giving structure inside the elastomeric bezel. The goal met was to allow the lamps to be simply pressed into their receiving holes with no fasteners needed, yet still be removable with no tools. A control handle for the all wheel steering option of backhoe loaders is documented on a dedicated page:
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