Most of us have an alarming tangle of cables and connectors on, below, and behind our desks. Multiply that by a hundred or a thousand times, and you have an idea of the cables and wiring that need to be managed in a car, a piece of machinery in a factory, or servers in a data center.
Designers of electro-mechanical systems with an ever-growing collection of cables and connectors have developed an approach that uses a wiring harness to manage a group of electrical cables by connecting them together in a bundle. The wiring harness is easier to install and maintain in the end product if cables are bundled together, and reliability is also improved if there are no single cables bouncing around.
An OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cable assembly is always the preferred option compared to a “gray market” or off-brand cable assembly when figuring out how to handle cables. When designing or maintaining a system, it might be tempting to use a cheaper brand, but that is a misguided, short-sighted approach. Let’s take a closer look.
What About the Cost?
OEM cable assemblies will likely cost a bit more, but that is a reflection of the quality and reliability of them compared to the gray market version. If you cut corners with a cheap cable assembly, you run the risk of early failure and put the whole system in jeopardy.
A cable assembly is usually a very small fraction of the cost of the system that houses it. Consider automotive applications. You can see cable assemblies everywhere – under seats, under the dashboard in the doors, under the hood – but copper cables, connectors, and insulation are a modest investment compared to the engine, electronics, body, and interior. Still, the functioning of the car depends on the cable assemblies. If the cables fail, the whole car fails. It would make no sense to save a few dollars on a cable assembly if, for example, that doubles the chance of a cable assembly failing. That failure means that the car – worth tens of thousands of dollars – would be out of commission. Your system customer doesn’t want to trace a failure back to a cable supplier trying to save a few bucks. Along with the cost of rectifying that situation, you will probably lose some business too.
Do You Need to Use OEM Cable Assemblies? Only if you want them to work!
So, when putting together a bill of materials for a system that includes cable assemblies, make the smart choice and specify OEM cable assemblies. They will be factory certified and guaranteed to meet all specifications, including lifetime and reliability. It’s the most cost-effective approach to design and procurement, and your customers will appreciate that you are prioritizing the performance and long-term value of their products. Need OEM cables? Contact us and let Xecunet help you with your next project.