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.