Leoni presents ultra-thin automotive cables for saving weight and space at IAA 2015

Aluminium cables in different power segments as part of light-weight technologies on display on booth D08 in hall 4.1

Nuremberg – Leoni, the leading European provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries, presents ultra-thin wall automotive cables on its IAA booth. The new generation FLUY cables deliver space savings of about 15 per cent and reduce the vehicles’ weight by up to 1.5 kilogrammes at the same time.

Leoni has further developed its range of automotive cables by introducing an automotive conductor made of copper with ultra-thin insulation. It is currently available in cross-sections from 0.35 mm² to 2.5 mm² and with either bare or tinned strands. Compared to conventional wires the new FLUY cables are insulated with a special PVC material, resulting in a minimal wall thickness of only 0.16 millimetres. This leads to a reduction of a single cable’s diameter by 11 percent. When widely used in wiring systems this can reduce the diameter of the harness bundles by up to 15 percent.

FLUY is not only a space saving technology, but also lowers the weight of the individual cable by 7 per cent. This amounts to up to 1.5 kilogrammes less in a mid-size passenger car if the majority of the wiring is made of these new generation cables.

The innovative FLUY cable has the same conductor construction as Leoni’s conventional FLRY product family and comes with good resistance to abrasion. Moreover, existing processing technologies and contact parts can still be used. An independent laboratory successfully completed validation of the new cable to the LV112-1 standard. Leoni has set up production capacities for the new product line in Europe, Asia and the Americas to be able to serve its customers globally. The first serial use is scheduled for 2017 for a premium brand car.

Aluminium cables for all power segments available

The installation space gained by the use of ultra-thin copper cables in turn becomes available for implementing further lightweight solutions, which need more space such as aluminium conductors. On its IAA booth Leoni has a variety of these products on display, starting with wires for the power segment, i.e. with cross-sections bigger than 10 mm2. Today, the development of aluminium cables for the mid and low power segment has progressed considerably, leading to products being close to serial production. Leoni will show cables with cross-sections between 2.5 mm2 and 10 mm2, which will be implemented in a new car starting in 2016.

Despite having a larger cross-section to deliver the same electrical conductivity, aluminium technology results in a noticeable weight reduction. Besides flexible wires, on its booth Leoni will show its busbar, a solid aluminium conductor, which can be bent in three dimensions and weighs only about half as much as the conventional copper component. 

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