Delphi Now Producing Over One Billion Feet of Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable Per Year

02 Sep 2008 • by Natalie Aster

ROY, MI -- After making its debut on the 2007 Toyota Tundra, Delphi Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable is now being produced for multiple vehicles from three major automakers at a rate of 1.5 billion feet per year. It is an environmentally responsible alternative to conventional cable such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE).

The cable, touted for its halogen free requirements, superior performance, smaller size and recyclability, is highly durable and significantly exceeds SAE and ISO test standards for abrasion. It also has a high degree of flame retardance.

The insulation on Delphi's Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable is half as thick as conventional coatings in North America-0.2 mm versus 0.4 mm-or about as thick as two sheets of paper, reducing weight by up to 27 percent and volume by up to 47 percent. Reductions in weight and volume improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance and the reduction in size enables automakers to fit more content into the same space. Delphi Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable also meets the chlorine- and lead-free parts requirement and has the best pinch and abrasion resistance in the industry.

"The wiring harness is one of the heaviest and most complex parts in a vehicle," said Stefaan Vandevelde, product business unit director, Delphi Electrical/Electronic Distribution Systems. "Delphi Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable brings weight and size reductions to the wiring harness at a time when space constraints are forcing automakers to find unique ways to package an ever-increasing amount of vehicle content. It simply allows them to fit more of the content consumers want in their vehicles."

Delphi Halogen-Free Ultra-Thin-Wall Cable is now in production and supports customers worldwide. It is validated to be manufactured at a number of global locations.

Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture delivers power and signal distribution networks for today's increasingly complex vehicles. Delphi engineers act as master architects by using proprietary design tools and software to create a virtual model of a vehicle's E/E architecture-down to the last connector, electrical center, electronic module and wiring harness. In doing so, they evaluate the impact of various trade-offs to deliver a fully optimized E/E architecture system backed by Delphi technical centers and manufacturing facilities in 31 countries around the globe.

Source: Delphi Corp.