With the successful delivery and commissioning of an automatic cable assembly machine for a worldwide leading manufacturer of railway vehicles, Metzner has once again proven its expertise as a specialist for customized projects. Material which is warehoused costs money. Money which could be saved in many cases. With an automatic cable assembly machine from Metzner, a well-known company has been able to manufacture cable harnesses for installation in trains and trams just in time and vehicle-specifically for some time now, without unnecessary warehousing space. Network integration
The automatic assembly machine with a total length of 48 meters (including the stacking table of 36 meters) is set up in an assembly hall for railway vehicles. The assembled cable harnesses are either directly installed in the railway vehicles in the hall or are wound up and delivered to other assembly halls. For optimum production, integration in the existing IT network is necessary. This way, existing CAD data can be imported and, in combination with special Metzner software, all data for assembly generated – with optimised set-up times and order-specific. The implementation
The cables to be processed are fed into the automatic cable assembly machine by an electrically driven drum coiler. A cable reservoir with various sensors controls the coiling speed exactly according to the processing speed of the assembly system and constantly ensures tension-free material feed. For the optimum adhesion of the subsequent colour markings and ink-jet labels, the cables are treated all-around with Corona in continuous operation. The use of two ink-jet printers with black and white UV-resistant ink guarantees the best colour contrast for every cable colour for good label legibility and the required durability and legibility for a period of 30 years. Cutting and stripping
A cutting and stripping machine specially designed for such applications, which has a built-in ultrasound welding station, ensures precise cable cutting and stripping. With belt feeds, the cables are transported with a length precision of <0.5% and cut and stripped with program control. Ultrasound welding
The ultrasound system used by Metzner also guarantees the desired result for cables having a cross section of 16 mm². This prevents the splicing of cables for the later assembly, which makes wiring much easier. | 
