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Highest quality testing for the heart of the electric vehicle

Battery cell block of an electric vehicle.

The battery is the defining and at the same time the most expensive component in an electric vehicle. It is therefore essential that manufacturers use efficient procedures to test its state of health. Industries such as the energy storage sector also apply this quality assurance requirement to the batteries used in their systems. Bosch Rexroth offers the individually configurable IndraDrive ML and ctrlX DRIVE solutions for highest quality performance and efficiency in battery diagnostics.

Electric mobility manufacturers are increasingly building better and less expensive vehicles. Their goal is to produce a wide range of more cost-efficient e-car models and accelerate their introduction to the mass market. The competitive pressure is growing as a result; not only on the manufacturers but also on the suppliers. Users working in the field of automation therefore need solutions that will allow them to perform efficient processes and that can be quickly and flexibly adapted to their current and future requirements.

For the critical process of battery testing, Bosch Rexroth therefore offers two modular solutions: IndraDrive ML and ctrlX DRIVE. IndraDrive ML stands for electrical drive technology in the upper power range of up to 500 kW in stand-alone operation and up to 4 MW in parallel connections. It can be used universally as a supply unit or as a single-axis inverter, and in power supply applications works in regenerative energy mode. ctrlX DRIVE is one of the most compact drive systems on the ctrlX AUTOMATION open automation platform worldwide.

This ensures that users receive exactly the right solution to suit their power requirements. Bosch Rexroth offers the most advanced drive system for charging and discharging battery systems up to 1120V DC with less than 0.1% current ripple, i.e. with very low voltage fluctuations. The modular drive can be configured up to 4 MW with standard components, and supports a wide voltage range of 380V AC to 690V AC. The devices can, therefore, operate with a wide variety of voltages and thus adapt to the voltage of the battery being tested. On this basis, systems can be designed not only for comprehensive applications but also for compact, cost-optimized solutions.

 

Modular battery-testing solutions to meet all requirements

IndraDrive ML and ctrlX DRIVE can be used, among other things, as testing equipment to qualify the charging and discharging characteristics of batteries. For testing, they are connected to the target battery pack. Modular I/O and drive systems are controlled by the MLC motion control system (based on integrated XM control) which has an integrated battery test software library. All test data is transferred directly via the open core interface to the higher-level analysis software such as LabView and MatLab which run on the VR or PR industrial PC. No separate software is required.

The custom-designed battery testing software in the MLC motion control system makes the test environment more intelligent, while the open core interface provides immediate, fully transparent access to all test data.

This is just one application scenario of many. Bosch Rexroth solutions can, for example, also be used to implement battery simulation systems for electric vehicle drives. The drive system serves as a battery simulator.

Bosch Rexroth also develops practical apps for use cases in this environment. One example is a battery testing app that is currently being planned in collaboration with third-party providers. It will be made available in the ctrlX Store of ctrlX World.

Users thus benefit from the possibility of tailoring this intelligent, open and modular system for battery testing solutions to their specific needs. In addition to their adaptability to different voltages, the compactly housed solutions offer a compelling combination of total power regeneration with lowest harmonics and an intelligent energy-saving mode. They also feature an industry-leading cooling system and design for test bed applications. Together with the housing and the low system weight, the result is an extremely compact and easy-to-handle solution.

This allows manufacturers to efficiently ensure highest quality testing of batteries to be used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

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Portrait view of Ad Scheepers, Game Changer Semicon & Electronics

Ad Scheepers

Game Changer
Semicon & Electronics

LinkedIn

 

The future of automation – Part 3

Like many other sectors, the industry is in the midst of change. Increasing digitalization and networking give rise to new technologies and processes, but, above all, create significant potential for automation and optimization.

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