EE-Components

Note: There is a newer version of this specification see VEC 2.1.0

EE-Components

An EEComponentSpecification is used to describe the technical aspects of an EE-component. An EE-component is an electrical component to which the wiring harness is attached to (e.g. an ECU, a sensor, a relay, an antenna, a battery, a fuse). All EE-components have in common that they have a certain electrical interface (e.g. to which the wiring harness is attached). To describe this interface, the EEComponentSpecification is used. The content of an EEComponentSpecification is highlighted in blue.

An EEComponentSpecification can define a couple of HousingComponents. A HousingComponent is one interface to which other components can be attached (e.g. the wiring harness). To describe a HousingComponent satisfyingly two aspects are necessary:

  • its geometrical shape and,
  • its electrical behavior.

In order to describe the geometrical shape of a HousingComponent it can reference a ConnectorHousingSpecification, so the same concept is used in the wiring harness and in an EE-component (highlighted in yellow). The electrical behavior of a HousingComponent is defined by several PinComponents. A PinComponent references a Cavity to define its location in the geometrical shape of the HousingComponent. To define its physical properties a PinComponent references a TerminalSpecification. These properties are defined inherently by the material and the type of the pin. It is a common case that some of the PinComponents (sometimes all) of a single HousingComponent are referencing the same TerminalSpecification. The definition of properties regarding the behavior of a PinComponent (e.g. defined by the software deployed on an ECU) is explained in the diagram "Pinning Information & Pinning Variance".