Method and apparatus for robotically routing wires on a harness form board

An apparatus for routing a wire, comprising a manipulator arm, a wire-routing end effector coupled to the manipulator arm, and a robot controller configured to control movement of the manipulator arm and rotation of the wire-routing end effector relative to the manipulator arm, wherein the wire-routing end effector comprises:

• a first frame;
• and
• a routing beak attached to and projecting from the first frame, wherein the routing beak has a height which decreases from a point of attachment to the first frame to a tip of the routing beak and has a channel configured to guide a wire along a predetermined path relative to the first frame as the wire moves through the channel, wherein the routing beak comprises an upper beak part having a first groove and a lower beak part having a second groove, wherein the first and second grooves form the channel, and wherein the upper beak part projects forward beyond the lower beak part.

A wire-routing end effector comprising:

• a first frame;
• and
• a routing beak attached to and projecting from the first frame, wherein the routing beak has a height which decreases from a point of attachment to the first frame to a tip of the routing beak and has a channel configured to guide a wire along a predetermined path relative to the first frame as the wire moves through the channel, wherein the routing beak comprises an upper beak part having a first groove and a lower beak part having a second groove, wherein the first and second grooves form the channel, and wherein the upper beak part projects forward beyond the lower beak part.