Advanced Finnish technology for automotive wiring systems

Assisted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, PKC Group, Finland works to develop bus technology applications for use in the power distribution and control systems on commercial vehicles. The concept is to offer customers flexible intelligent features while reducing the amount of wiring. The new LIN (Local Interconnect Network) technology was recently deemed to be the most promising technology to fulfil vehicle manufacturers’ new technological specifications.

To succeed in competition, vehicle manufacturers demand an increasing number of features from the automotive electronic systems. As the amount of electronics and number of onboard electrical devices increase, leading vehicle manufacturers have had to specify new technological requirements for vehicle wiring systems. By using the new LIN (Local Interconnect Network) technology, vehicle manufacturers can reduce the number of onboard cables and easily modify the functions of electrical equipment. LIN technology refers to a single-wire system in which sensors, actuators, and even switches, can be distributed along a single communication bus. Conventional bus technologies are too expensive for this purpose. VTT analyzed the requirements set by the LIN bus systems and proposed a number of options for their implementation.

PKC Group makes use of the bus technology specified by Audi, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Motorola, Volcano Communications Technologies, Volvo and VW to assist manufacturers in the implementation of vehicle wiring. With advanced bus technology, the number, size and cost of cables can be reduced further. At the same time, the new technology makes it easier to modify individual functions of the electrical equipment.

VTT also made an implementation plan for the PKC gateway module. The gateway module is used to connect the LIN bus to other onboard bus systems. Furthermore, special attention was paid to the training and servicing requirements of the new technology. By applying the latest bus technology, PKC seeks to consolidate its position as a leading supplier of wiring systems for commercial vehicles.

– These new products support our other main line of business, the manufacture of wiring harnesses for the heavy-duty automotive industry. It was recognised that the number of cables required in vehicles would become excessively high in the foreseeable future, and therefore the industry was forced to prepare new standards. We will offer manufacturers systems and tools that conform to the new specifications, says Mr Mika Niskanen, Team Leader for Automotive Electronics Systems at the PKC Group Oyj.

PKC is an expert in automotive electronics and was able to master the new technology with VTT’s assistance. Through VTT, PKC received a great deal of information about the requirements set by vehicle manufacturers. As a result of the project, PKC is now in a good position to proceed even to next generation bus technology.