Wire-harness designs get better electrical analysis

-- EDN, 12/7/2000

The DC Analyzer circuit-analysis and -visualization tool from Mentor Graphics expands the electrical-analysis capabilities of the Logical Cable wire-harness-design product line. DC Analyzer provides an intuitive environment to determine dc currents and voltage drops throughout system interconnects. Designers can use analysis results to revise the sizing of wires or fuses to reduce product weight and enhance system reliability. The tool automatically highlights any portion of a design falling outside specified tolerances, alerting designers to potential problem areas.

DC Analyzer allows you to evaluate all wire-harness configurations under varying operating conditions. This feature is helpful because, with electrical systems increasing in cost, content, and complexity, it becomes critical for design engineers to verify designs and identify electrical problems in the early phases of the design process. Additionally, many automotive and aerospace vehicles are available in dozens or hundreds of configurations, many of which require different sets of assembled wire harnesses.

One of the biggest obstacles to performing electrical analysis of wire harnesses can be the difficulty of modeling components. To address this problem, DC Analyzer automatically inserts models of commonly used wire-harness components and includes a library of sample models that you can use to model circuit components and loads, allowing designers to build unique custom models. DC Analyzer transparently incorporates the Spice 3 circuit-analysis technology, allowing designers to use Spice circuit-analysis tools without learning Spice command syntax. DC Analyzer is available on Sun Solaris, HP UX, Windows NT, and IBM AIX. The product is available as an option to Logical Cable. Prices start at $9000 for a floating license.

Mentor Graphics Corp, www.mentor.com/cabling.

—by Gabe Moretti