Phoenix Contact’s clipx WIRE Assist System to Boost Productivity

Phoenix Contact has developed an entire system geared toward managing and automating wiring tasks. This automation system and both software and physical wiring management system, called the clipx WIRE assist, will ultimately increase productivity and efficiency by taking mundane, repetitive tasks, like wire stripping, and automating them.

It will also increase the effectiveness of documentation through the use of labeling products that will clearly mark wires, saving time during installation and troubleshooting efforts for multi-wire control panels.

 

What is the clipx WIRE Assist?

The clipx WIRE assist is a highly-customizable workspace that can organize wiring operations. At its core, there is a software system that manages multiple Phoenix Contact devices, including their automatic wire cutters, strippers, labelers, and thermal printers. It also can include multiple physical devices for building a standalone workspace that will hold all of the Phoenix Contact devices, wires, and other accessories.

The system begins with a physical workbench that provides attachments for everything the technician might need to perform repetitive wiring operations quickly and efficiently. There is a wide variety of optional tool holders, shelves, drawers, foam inserts for tools, worklights, and power strips, just like you might find on any typical configurable workbench.

On top of this workbench, the software and wiring tools are added as required for the tasks. On the monitor, the technician uses the CAD/CAE electrical component data and is guided through the setup of every process, from wire feeding, to cutting, to stripping, to ferrule crimping, and even the labeling. All completed in one seamless process.

 

The Phoenix Contact clipx WIRE assist workbench. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact

 

The Importance of an Ergonomic Workbench

At first glance, one might say, “I already have a workspace and some wire strippers, why upgrade?” That is probably an acceptable attitude if wiring operations are infrequent. However, cutting, stripping, labeling, and other wiring operations are repetitive, time-consuming, and rather boring. Very few technicians like performing these operations. If they are performed often enough, they can even lead to ergonomic injuries due to the repetitive motions.

Besides this, developing a workflow for wiring operations is also time-consuming. How much time does it take for a technician to find their wire strippers, unspool wire manually, visually inspect each strip to ensure that none of the multistrand wires were damaged, and so on? Chances are, if there are more than a few wiring jobs, this is taking far too much time.

Enter the clipx WIRE assist workbench. The technician has a place for all of the tools required, most of which are automated devices, such as the CUTFOX 10 wire cutter or the THERMOMARK ROLL series printer. All components on the bench are adjustable, allowing the technician to configure what is most comfortable for them, such as raising the workbench to an appropriate working height.

The final result is technicians producing more wiring assemblies faster and with a reduced chance of ergonomic injuries. Furthermore, due to the use of automation, wiring jobs will be much more consistently cut, stripped, and labeled each time.

 

A pared-down revision of the Phoenix Contact clipx WIRE assist workbench, illustrating the flexibility for each unique process. Image used courtesy of Phoenix Contact

 

Challenges of Wiring and Panel Building

Anyone who has ever cut, stripped, and labeled wires knows how tedious this task can be. First, it is a major source of inconsistency, as one technician’s “quarter inch” of wire stripping will vary against another’s. Second, it is a repetitive, boring task, ripe for the transition to automation.

Automation is exactly what Phoenix Contact has done; they have found an efficient way to manage all of these operations in one place, freeing up the technician’s time and brain power for more important tasks, or to manage the production of more panels at once, speeding up the deployment of high-tech automation across every industry!