Q5D Technologies (Q5D), the UK robotics company specialising in automated wire harness production, will showcase its latest technology on stand H150 at the Advanced Engineering 2026, 4–5 November at the NEC, Birmingham, at the invitation of the event’s organisers.
The company will give live demonstrations of the CY10W 5-axis robotic manufacturing platform, showing a practical, deployable and scalable approach to automating electrical wiring in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The technology is equally applicable to the automotive and industrial sectors, where Q5D is also heavily engaged with leading customers.
Wiring remains one of the most labour-intensive stages of drone manufacture, creating a bottleneck as manufacturers seek to increase production volumes while responding rapidly to changing designs. Q5D’s technology addresses this challenge by automatically placing wires directly into pre-formed channels in the UAV structure, with connections to components such as batteries, cameras and control electronics. Automated termination using insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) further simplifies assembly.
The demonstration will illustrate how drone wiring production can be scaled without the large, remote workforce and facilities associated with conventional harness manufacture. The digitally controlled process also enables rapid design changes and allows manufacturing equipment to be deployed close to final assembly or operational locations, reducing dependence on extended supply chains.
“Drone manufacturers need to scale production quickly, adapt designs continuously and maintain consistent quality,” said Stephen Bennington, CEO of Q5D Technologies. “Wiring automation can remove a major obstacle to achieving those goals. Our Advanced Engineering demonstration will show how this capability can be deployed in a practical manufacturing environment, with the flexibility to respond as production requirements evolve in this rapidly growing market.”
The CY10W is a fully enclosed, five-axis robotic platform designed for accurate wire placement on complex three-dimensional structures. Its interchangeable tooling supports multiple wiring and assembly processes, while its digital manufacturing approach enables repeatable production and integration with wider factory automation systems.
Alongside the demonstration, Q5D will display examples of automated wiring that highlight the technology’s potential to reduce manufacturing costs, weight and complexity, improve quality and reliability, and enable electrical assembly to be brought closer to final product manufacture.
