PsiControl Mechatronics and Punch develop first hybrid in Belgium

In the upcoming months Punch and PsiControl Mechatronics will present the first hybrid made in Belgium. Together we have developed one of the most advanced hybrid power trains in the world. The plug-in hybrid, based on the Smart ForFour chassis, will be able to drive up to 80 km on electricity only before the fuel engine wakes up.

The drive train contains a new generation CVT of Punch Powertrain and the powerful SR (Switched Reluctance) electromotor of PsiControl Mechatronics. The SR motor technology, which is also used in the Picanol weaving machines for more then 15 years now, is very effective for automotive applications.

The sky is the limit, maybe the electric vehicle of the future can fly… Which vehicles will become electric? Which will be the first to conquer the automotive market? And when? It’s more and more over the news these days: little urban electric vehicles, motorcycles driven by electricity, hybrid buses,… Electric Vehicles (EV), even already today, are much more than slow wheelchairs and golf cars. The race has begun. What seemed to be a science fiction movie a couple of years ago, can become reality faster then we might think. Battery and motor technology are rapidly improving, almost beyond imagination. Mix this with green energy awareness and tight CO2 emission levels needed to be reached, and you get a cocktail which is about to taste pretty sweet.

PsiControl Mechatronics can do quite a lot of things for the automotive industry, certainly if this industry is electrified in the near future. With proven motor technology and the competences to integrated complex electronic motor drives and controls, the opportunities are endless.

Any idea, opinion or thought on this matter, don’t hesitate to insert your comment below. The EV story concerns everybody. Most probably all of us will drive an EV in this lifetime!

Check of the motor design

Students from the VDS Groep T team recently consulted PsiControl Mechatronics on its expertise in drive lines with switched reluctance motors. The VDS Groep T team of the International GROEP T Leuven University College is part of the Vehicle Design Summit Consortium, and works together with several universities and industries all over the world to develop a next generation environment friendly car. PsiControl Mechatronics checked the first the motor design of VDS GROEP T, and will give advice on this.

In particular, the geometry of the motor was inputted into the motor calculation software of PsiControl Mechatronics. The performance of the motor obviously depends on its design. However, maximum performance can only be achieved by an optimal steering of the motor, which is not trivial to do. PsiControl Mechatronics has a state-of-the-art platform to determine motor specific driving parameters. Similar optimizations have also been carried out for the various motors on Picanol weaving machines. In addition, PsiControl Mechatronics will also put a motor controller at VDS’s disposal in order to put the prototype motor into operation as quickly as possible. In particular, this will translate the position of the accelerator pedal in a motor torque, and transfer the voltages to the switched reluctance motor.

Kick-off in Leuven

On Wednesday evening the Umicore Solar Team presented at Groep T in Leuven the 3 possible concepts of the new Belgian solar car. A lot of important people from industry and politics attented this session. The Design rules for the Challenge Class have changed. This year the car must be equipped with grip tires. The weight of the batteries is less. All the other safety rules (protection of pilot) are kept.

All three concepts are based on three wheels because of the minimum “roll losses”. The 1st concept is the one used in the first edition the “one front wheel”. The advantages are that the visibility on the road is better because the seat is more in front of the car. The steering mechanism is easier. The area of solar cells at the backside is bigger. In this concept one can use concentrators to improve energy capture. Because during the race the sun is almost in the back, the energy capture may be significant better. In the race this can be very useful. This will be more important because the day –off (midway) will be eliminated. A drawback of this concept is that the front wheel becomes critical and is mechanically heavily charged.

The 2nd concept is the one used in the second edition. This is a “proven concept” according to the results. Two wheels are in front and one motor wheel at the backside. The 3rd concept is asymmetrical (sidecar). Because of the less frontal surface this car is aerodynamically a real “race car”... Because of the side winds during the race, the steering of the car will be more difficult. Mechanically there are some drawbacks, but these can be solved
These models are or will be used in wind tunnels to study the aerodynamic behavior. About the electronics not one word is said. This doesn’t mean they didn’t start working on it. We already had meetings and discussions about electronics and not at least about its reliability, but some project work for school is delaying the work for the solar car. Because of reliablity problems in the previous edition one has set up FMEA (Failure Mode Effective Analysis) and FMECA studies. Because of the success of the previous edition this team has the possibility to win. The target is to win. From Umicore we got the message that the solar cells will be even better.

Vehicle Design Summit

The goal of the ‘Vehicle Design Summit’ project is to design, build and bring to market the VISION, a hyper efficient and environmental friendly vehicle. The 4 passenger vehicle is meant for the Indian and Chinese market. It will demonstrate a high reduction in energy, materials and toxicity from cradle-to-cradle-to grave. To achieve this, standard concepts of design, development or market strategy will not apply. Based on the experiments of the Vision 200, made in the summer of 2008, the goal for the next summer is to assemble a second prototype, the Vision GT. The prototype will be set in to do some drive and durability tests.

The ‘VDS Groep T’ team of the International School Groep T in Leuven, Belgium works together with several universities and industries over the whole world to achieve the challenging goal. The team of Groep T consists of 14 masters of engineering students and is responsible for the motion and the frame of the vehicle. The electrical motor and controller board are considered as the innovative components for the Vision GT vehicle. To fulfill the motion, the team has chosen a SR motor because of his robustness, ability to overload and life-time. Already some first contacts between the Motor-group of PsiControl Mechatronics and the VDS Groep T team are made. As PsiControl has a lot of experience in design, integration and control as well in SR technology as in electronics, it is certain that we can push the VDS team forward to finally achieve the innovative vehicle.

Check out the website: http://www.vehicledesignsummit.be/ for more information about the project.

PsiControl Mechatronics hosts the Solar Team Event in Ypres

On Tuesday 7 October 2008, the Belgian Solar Team made an exclusive visit to PsiControl Mechatronics in our hometown of Ypres. The visit related to the HP Solar Tour, which will see the team travel across Belgium to generate awareness regarding the finiteness of fossil fuels. PsiControl Mechatronics represents the technology partner in the Solar Team and among other things provides support for the circuit design, as well as the production and quality control of the printed circuit boards for the solar car. As a result, PsiControl Mechatronics assisted the Belgian Solar Team’s swift crossing of the Australian desert without a single drop of fuel during the World Solar Challenge 2007, the annual world championship for solar-powered cars in Australia. The Solar Team Event, which was hosted by PsiControl Mechatronics, began with a demonstration of the solar team at the Ypres market square for the benefit of the general public. The team focused on promoting the advantages of generating electricity without any noise hindrance, pollution, disturbing of the ecosystems and without the need to take up too much space. The event was attended by hundreds of local visitors (including students from various schools that were invited) and the local press. Following the public event, PsiControl Mechatronics held an internal session at its premises for our employees and Belgium/France-based.