Northwest Aerospace News December | January Issue No. 12 | Page 57

ASSOCIATION FOR UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEMS SPOTLIGHT
T
hat, and building a quality product. Whether it’s in
commercial space exploration, manned aviation, drones
or broadcast television, CII has made a name for itself
with products that survive in the harshest environments.
“In broadcast, for example, these cables get dragged
through the snow, stepped on and thrown in the back of a
van multiple times each day,” White explained. “There is
no margin for failure, and that’s an especially important
quality for the aerospace industry.”
Inside Out
According to White, “There is no formal training program
for engineers to learn how to design cable assemblies.
Our first value add with a new customer typically
comes when we do a manufacturability review on their
drawings.” White’s team analyses the client’s engineering
drawing, identifying elements that would be difficult, or
impossible, to connect with the wiring necessary to make
the finished design work. That can include suggesting
changes to the connectors or other components to be
used to reduce lead time and cost. “We realize that if our
clients can make something less expensive that works just
as well, everybody wins,” said White. “We’re interested
in establishing long-term relationships by adding value
through this process.”
With the finished drawings in hand, White’s team builds
a first article, which is then sent to the client to verify
they have correctly interpreted the drawing requirements.
During the development of the prototype, CII creates
a detailed document that includes all of the required
steps and processes to create the cabling — so that when
it moves into full production, the same item can be
reproduced by anyone on the shop floor.
This approach has earned CII steady business across
the Northwest aerospace industry, according to White.
“We still build cable assemblies for our first client and
they are not unique. We’ve been working on the Insitu
ScanEagle for more than 15 years now,” she said. “We’re
doing everything from manufacturing wire and cable
electrical harnesses, all the way up to actual integration of
electronics into finished aircraft components like wings and
fuselages as well as command and control communication
equipment.”
DECEMBER 2019 | JANUARY 2020 ISSUE NO. 12
57