Dongguan Wisechamp Electronic Co., Ltd. contacted us for a solution for the automated production of FAKRA cable harnesses for radio frequency antennas. The company is a Japan-Hong Kong joint venture based in Dongguan (in the Chinese province of Guangdong). It focuses on the development and production of precision connectors, molds, printed circuit boards, and other products with high quality requirements. 

The name FAKRA comes from Fachkreis Automobil, a German working group, and refers to connectors according to the German DIN 72594-2 standard. These are based on a server message block connector but have a sophisticated coding system with plastic housings with 13 different mechanical and color codes. This simplifies identification and avoids mismating.

Rare terminal type with particularly exacting requirements.

In this case, the terminal was a very rare type, for which stability and high-quality high-frequency signal transmission were essential. Several components had to be positioned precisely and aligned with each other. At the same time, the processing of the shielding layer of the coaxial cable and the coaxiality of the inner and outer conductor after crimping make higher technical demands on the processing quality, which further increased the difficulty of the project. The connector system consists of an inner terminal, an outer terminal, and a ferrule.

The Lambda 425 HPC meets these challenges.

The Lambda 425 HPC automatically strips the outer insulation, crimps the support ring, turns over the shielding layer, strips the inner insulation layer of aluminum foil, and crimps the inner and outer conductors. And with the integrated crimping force monitoring system, it ensures reproducible crimp quality.

This solution's success is no coincidence. One of Komax's strengths is its broad experience with a wide variety of cable connectors, because we work closely with the market-leading connector manufacturers. With joint developments, we help them to create products that can be processed automatically.

“Production efficiency meets our expectations”

At least five employees were involved in the previous production process. By hand, the production process for a harness took 25 seconds. With the Lambda 425 HPC, now only two employees are required, and the processing time has been reduced to around 16 seconds. With their second machine, the time even decreased to 11 seconds.

No wonder the customer is very happy with the solution. "The machine runs stably, the production efficiency meets our expectations, and the quality of the finished products meets our customer’s requirements,” explains Mr. Wanghui, operations director from Dongguan Wisechamp Electronic Co., Ltd: “With Komax's market-leading solution, our company's image has also gained. We are now perceived as a high-tech company."

"Komax's global network works perfectly".

The customer is also pleased with the advice and support provided by Komax. As part of a joint venture, it has good relations with a Japanese company. So, it was only natural that the preliminary work was handled at Komax Japan. "After the delivery of the first system, we were very satisfied with the local sales and service support,” adds Mr. Wanghui: “That's why we will be working directly with Komax Shanghai now and in the future. For me, this is proof that Komax's global network functions perfectly."

What's next, Mr. Wanghui? "We are now working with four Lambda 425 HPCs and there is a good chance that more will be added. The modular structure of the solution is crucial. This way, automation can also be increased step by step by adding more optional modules."