Automation of Cable Routing for Harness Design in Satellites

Abstract

The design of cable harnesses for satellite systems is a complex and time-consuming task, constrained by limited installation space, strict safety requirements, and increasing system complexity, and traditionally relies on manual CAD-based routing driven by expert knowledge and iterative adjustments, limiting flexibility during early design phases. This thesis addresses the Cable Harness Routing Problem (CHRP) by investigating the feasibility of an automated low-code routing workflow suitable for early-stage satellite design. A voxel-based methodology is proposed that integrates a CAD environment with graph-based path finding using the A* algorithm, sequential Design Space updates, and physics-based reconstruction through a spring–particle system with Raphos Physics within the Synera platform. The workflow incorporates connector orientations, routing restrictions near mounting regions, bundled harness handling, bending radius constraints, and category-based clearance rules to generate feasible routing paths in complex three-dimensional environments. The methodology was implemented and evaluated using a representative subset of the Eu:CROPIS spacecraft bus as a reference mission, enabling a controlled and realistic assessment under practical geometric and functional constraints. Compared to the manually designed reference harness, the automated routing demonstrated improved consistency in bending radius compliance and mounting interval distribution, at the cost of a limited increase in local intersections with the Non-Design Space. Although the generated routing exhibited a moderate increase in total length and mass, the automated workflow significantly reduced routing design time, completing all stages from geometry extraction to constraint verification in slightly over one hour, compared to approximately three and a half working days required for manual routing. These results indicate that voxel-based automated routing can provide a viable and efficient foundation for supporting harness layout decisions in early satellite design phases, while offering future extensions toward optimization and enhanced physical modeling.