The installation and maintenance of industrial automation field devices typically requires multiple cables that are identical or very similar in appearance to be matched and mated with a select connector of an input/output (I/O) module or other device. Cable to connector mis-match can occur and results in one or more undesirable outcomes including failure of the field device (e.g., sensor or actuator) and/or I/O module, erroneous data transfer between the I/O module and field device, perceived failure of the one or more components. These undesirable outcomes and others increase machine down-time, labor costs to isolate and repair errors, parts cost and can contribute to unfavorable perception of the industrial automation system overall.
Known devices and methods for organizing cables and other control lines (e.g., electrical cables, hydraulic hoses, pneumatic hoses, etc.) are sub-optimal for overcoming the above-noted problems. One known approach involves labeling each cable so that it is associated with a particular device connector. This approach is labor-intensive and requires that the technician make the correct cable-to-connector labeling and association. Also, multiple I/O modules are commonly mounted adjacent each other and a technician can easily mate a cable to a connector on the incorrect module.
Another known method involves use of wire loom separation devices. These devices are immovably secured to a support surface and hold the cables or other control lines in a select arrangement relative to each other.
Known wire loom separators have not been widely employed for use in connection with industrial automation field devices and other applications for a variety of reasons. One drawback associated with these devices is that they are immovable and, thus, do not facilitate movement of the cables or other control lines to a position where they will not interfere with the installation/replacement of a device such as an I/O module or other work being performed. Some wire loom separation devices require use of fasteners to secure the cables in position, and this is generally undesirable for a wide variety of reasons including cost of manufacture, labor cost for assembly, lost parts, and the like.
For devices such as industrial automation I/O modules and the like, including multiple rows and columns of connectors, there is no known wire loom separation device that holds the cables or other control lines directly aligned with the respective connectors to which they are intended to be connected, i.e., with the cable-receiving locations of the wire loom separation device arranged and located in a pattern that corresponds directly in terms of location and spacing to the pattern of the connectors to which the cables are intended to be connected. Furthermore, there is no such device defined from a transparent polymeric material that allows for unobstructed viewing of the I/O module or other device (including its indicator lights and other visual output devices) to which the cables or other control lines are connected while still holding the cables or other control lines in the required connector pattern, with each control line aligned with a particular connector along a connection axis of the connector.