Quick Start Scenario: The Friday Afternoon RFQ

It's 3 PM on Friday. Your sales team just forwarded an RFQ from a potential customer who needs a wire harness quote by Monday morning. The customer attached a hand-drawn sketch and a partial BOM.

This scenario walks you through responding to that RFQ using LoomCAD - from blank canvas to quoted deliverable in under an hour.

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The Challenge

You received:

• A rough sketch of a 12-connector harness
• A list of 8 known part numbers
• Requirements: 24V automotive, 15 wires, 3 splices
• Deadline: Monday 9 AM

Your deliverables:

• Professional schematic drawing (PDF)
• Complete BOM with pricing
• Wire cut list for estimating

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Step 1: Create the Project (2 minutes)

1. Open eda.loomcad.com
2. Click Create New Project
3. Name it: Customer-RFQ-2024-001

TIP

Use a consistent naming convention for RFQs. Include the customer name and date for easy tracking.

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Step 2: Add Known Components from DigiKey (10 minutes)

The customer provided 8 part numbers. Let's fetch the real component data.

1. Open DigiKey Integration from the side menu
2. Search for the first part number
3. Click to add the component to your sheet

Repeat for each known part number. LoomCAD pulls:

• Pin count and configuration
• Manufacturer data
• Datasheet links

Component placed from DigiKey with properties populated

For the remaining 4 connectors without part numbers, use Custom Component:

1. Select the Component tool from the toolbar
2. Draw the component outline
3. In the Inspector, set the pin count and labels

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Step 3: Draw the Bundle Structure (8 minutes)

Now sketch the physical harness routing.

1. Select the Bundle tool (Alt+B)
2. Click to place bundle path points
3. Connect all components with bundle segments

Quick Routing

Start from the main trunk and branch outward. This matches how the harness will be built on the formboard.

For the 3 splices:

1. Select the Bundle Splice tool from the toolbar
2. click on each bundle junction
3. Fill in the properties dialog (name: SP1, SP2, SP3)

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Step 4: Connect the Wires (15 minutes)

With bundles in place, add the 15 wire connections.

1. Select the Wire tool (Alt+W)
2. Click on a source pin
3. Click on a destination pin
4. The wire routes automatically through bundles

Set wire properties in the Inspector:

• Color (using DIN 47100 codes)
• Gauge (AWG or mm²)
• Part number (if specified)

Power Wires

For the 24V power circuit, use appropriate gauge. The AI can help:

"What gauge wire for 24V 15A over 2 meters?"

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Step 5: Ask AI to Validate (3 minutes)

Before exporting, let's check for issues.

1. Open AI Chat (Ctrl+Shift+A)
2. Ask: "Check this harness for any missing connections or validation issues"

The AI will scan your design and report:

• Unconnected pins
• Missing wire properties
• Bundle routing issues

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Step 6: Export Deliverables (5 minutes)

Generate the quote materials.

PDF Drawing

1. Open Manufacturing Data from the side menu
2. Click Export > PDF

BOM (Bill of Materials)

1. In Manufacturing Data, switch to BOM tab
2. Review the component list
3. Click Export > Excel

Wire Cut List

1. Switch to Wire Cut List tab
2. Verify calculated lengths
3. Export to Excel

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Result

In under an hour, you've created:

Deliverable	Status
Professional PDF schematic	Ready
Complete BOM with DigiKey part numbers	Ready
Wire cut list with lengths	Ready
Quote-ready documentation	Ready

Your Monday morning deadline? Handled by Friday at 4 PM.

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Key Techniques Used

Technique	Time Saved
DigiKey integration for real component data	~30 min vs manual entry
AI validation check	~15 min vs manual review
Automatic wire length calculation	~20 min vs manual measurement
One-click PDF/Excel export	~15 min vs manual formatting

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Next Steps

Now that you've seen the end-to-end workflow:

• Your First Harness - Detailed step-by-step tutorial
• AI Copilot Overview - Get more from the AI assistant
• Scripting Basics - Automate repetitive tasks
• DigiKey Integration - Advanced component search

Save Time on Future RFQs

Save your validated components and common wire configurations to a Library Project. Next time, you'll start with proven building blocks instead of from scratch.