🔌 High-Speed Cable Testing Systems: Precision, Reliability, and Data Logging for UK Manufacturers

The integrity of a cable or wire harness is paramount to the safety and performance of any electronic system, from a simple domestic appliance to mission-critical aerospace components. In the fast-paced world of UK manufacturing, relying on outdated or manual testing methods is no longer viable.

At Cimbian UK, we provide advanced Cable Testing Systems that offer verifiable, high-speed testing, enabling you to guarantee the quality of every single assembly, reduce scrap rates, and maintain the highest levels of customer confidence and regulatory compliance.

The Manufacturing Challenge: Why Standard Continuity Checks Fall Short

For decades, basic continuity and resistance checks were sufficient. Today, however, complex harnesses feature hundreds of connection points and are subject to extreme environments (temperature, vibration, chemical exposure) in high-reliability applications like electric vehicles (EVs), medical devices, and defence systems.

The true cost of failure is exponential: A faulty harness installed in a finished product leads to expensive recalls, warranty claims, reputational damage, and lost future contracts.

Simply checking if a connection exists (continuity) is not enough. Manufacturers must accurately measure four critical factors that standard testers often miss:

• • High Resistance: Subtle impedance issues that degrade signal quality or cause heat generation.
  • Intermittent Faults: Errors that only occur when the cable is stressed, bent, or subjected to vibration.
  • Insulation Breakdown: Failure of the dielectric material, which requires high-voltage (HiPot) testing.
  • Mis-wired Components: Subtle errors in diode or resistor placement that can be missed by simple continuity checks.

Cimbian UK addresses these challenges head-on by providing the industry-leading CableEye^® platform and bespoke solutions that deliver full, traceable diagnostics at production speed.

🔬 The Cimbian Solution: The Power of the CableEye^® Platform

We specialise in supplying, training, and supporting the CAMI Research CableEye^® line of testers, known globally for their speed, flexibility, and robust data logging capabilities. The CableEye system transforms your quality control process from a manual bottleneck into an automated quality assurance gateway.

1. Advanced 4-Wire (Kelvin) Measurement

The core limitation of most bench-top testers is their inability to accurately measure very low resistance. They use a standard 2-wire method where the resistance of the test leads themselves is included in the reading, leading to errors.

The CableEye M4 series utilises 4-Wire (Kelvin) measurement. This technique dedicates separate pairs of leads for current and voltage measurement, isolating the true resistance of the cable under test. This is essential for:

• Measuring the minute resistance of heavy-gauge power cables.

• Identifying subtle crimp degradations in automotive harnesses.

• Ensuring compliance in applications with strict resistance tolerances.

Impact: Achieve true, repeatable, and accurate resistance measurements, ensuring optimal performance across all assemblies.

2. High Voltage (HiPot) Testing for Insulation Integrity

For any cable assembly operating at high voltage or in harsh environments, Dielectric Withstand Voltage (DWV) and Insulation Resistance (IR) testing is non-negotiable. This is commonly known as HiPot testing.

Our CableEye systems are equipped with integrated HiPot capabilities (up to 2100V DC and 1200V AC).

• DWV Testing: Applies high voltage to stress the insulation, guaranteeing it will not fail in the field.

• IR Testing: Measures the actual resistance of the insulation to identify long-term leakage paths.

Impact: Reduce the risk of catastrophic failure, ensure regulatory compliance, and provide certified reports that guarantee the assembly’s insulation integrity. This is paramount for Electric Vehicle (EV) harness testing and high-voltage industrial machinery.

3. Automated Data Logging and Traceability

In modern manufacturing, simply passing a test is not enough—you must prove it. The CableEye software automatically logs all test results, measurements, operator details, and test dates.

This feature allows for:

• Full Traceability: Generate professional, serialised reports for every cable tested, linking the physical assembly to its test data.

• Audit Readiness: Instantly retrieve data required for ISO 9001 and other quality assurance audits.

• Quality Trend Analysis: Identify systemic issues by tracking specific failure types over time, allowing proactive adjustments to the manufacturing process.

🌎 Precision Cable Testing: Sector-Specific Solutions

While the core principles of continuity and resistance remain the same, different industries face unique environmental and regulatory pressures. Cimbian UK provides specialized testing profiles tailored to these demanding sectors.

🏎️ Motorsport & High-Performance Automotive

In the world of Formula 1 and professional rally, a single intermittent connection can lead to a DNF (Did Not Finish). Harnesses are subjected to extreme vibration, thermal shock, and exposure to corrosive fluids.

• The Challenge: Micro-breaks in conductors that only appear under mechanical stress.

• The Solution: Using CableEye’s intermittent fault detection during “shake tests.” The system monitors connections at high speeds, capturing faults that last only milliseconds.

⚡ Electric Vehicles (EV) & Battery Storage

EV assemblies carry high-voltage DC current, making safety and thermal management the top priorities. Even a tiny increase in resistance at a terminal can lead to dangerous heat buildup.

• The Challenge: Guaranteeing extremely low resistance in high-current paths and ensuring high-voltage isolation.

• The Solution: 4-Wire (Kelvin) testing to verify crimp quality on heavy-gauge battery cables, followed by 2100V DC HiPot testing to ensure the integrity of the orange high-voltage safety jackets.

✈️ Aerospace & Defence

Compliance with standards like AS9100 and IPC-WHMA-A-620 is non-negotiable. Every harness must have a “birth certificate”—a fully traceable record of its electrical integrity.

• The Challenge: Managing massive harnesses with thousands of test points and ensuring zero human error in reporting.

• The Solution: Automated data logging and serialized reporting. CableEye generates a tamper-proof PDF report for every serial number, which can be stored digitally for long-term audit trails.

🏥 Medical Device Manufacturing

Medical electronics require extreme isolation to protect both patient and operator. High-precision dielectric testing is essential for devices ranging from MRI machines to robotic surgical arms.

• The Challenge: Detecting minute leakage currents that could indicate a future insulation failure.

• The Solution: Integrated Insulation Resistance (IR) testing, which measures resistance into the Giga-ohm ($\Omega$) range, ensuring that even the smallest dielectric weakness is identified before the device is deployed.

Custom Interfaces and Fixturing

The most time-consuming part of testing is often the fixture setup. We provide solutions including:

• Self-Learning Capabilities: The CableEye system can automatically ‘learn’ a known-good cable configuration, eliminating complex manual programming.

• Custom Interface Boards: We can supply or design bespoke connection interfaces and fixtures to handle non-standard connectors, high-pin counts, and complex test requirements unique to your products.

Ready to Elevate Your Quality Assurance?

By partnering with Cimbian UK, you are investing not just in a tester, but in a complete quality control ecosystem backed by decades of expertise. We offer the precision and speed necessary to meet today’s demanding manufacturing standards.

Don’t let hidden cable faults damage your reputation.

REQUEST YOUR CABLEEYE DEMO TODAY

Relevant Resources for Cable Testing Excellence

• CASE STUDY: How Motorsport Harness Manufacturers Achieve Zero-Fault Testing.
• GUIDE: Understanding the ROI of HiPot Testing: Is Your Insulation Reliable?
• SERVICE: Book Your Annual CableEye Calibration and Certification.
• TECH DEEP DIVE: CableEye M4 vs. Standard Continuity: Why 4-Wire Measurement is Essential.