Motor

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Dyno development

For ICE powertrain companies looking to transition into e-powertrain engineering, the construction of the new test cells poses on of the biggest cost-barrier to entry, writes Rory Jackson. High-speed dynamometers and test benches capable of measuring the performances of e-motors are inevitably pricey, and many such companies already possess significant testing equipment for cycling combustion […]

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Measuring methods and equipment

New component measurement technologies are complementing traditional methods, and are now being integrated into EV production lines, writes Peter Donaldson. Metrology methods and equipment used in the manufacture of EVs are no different in principle from those applied to IC- engined ones, but their powertrains are built using a different set of...

Deep Insight

EMI

Nick Flaherty explains the different ways of protecting against EMI in EV platforms, and why it needs to be considered from the earliest stages of system design. Essentially there are only three ways to handle electromagnetic interference (EMI) – don’t produce it, filter it out or shield from it. These options lead to a wide range of design trade-offs in e-mobility designs, from the power systems through the...

Digest

vRbikes vR3

Rory Jackson looks at how this three-wheeler has been designed to carry as much cargo as possible in the smallest footprint possible. Given that an electric powertrain brings with it lower maintenance times and costs compared with ICE powertrains, so more and more EV developers are looking to ‘right-size’ their vehicles into smaller and more compact architectures, for ease of use and...

In Conversation

Henrik Fisker

Fisker Inc's founder tells Stewart Mitchell why the company's first car will be a mass-market, all-electric SUV. For the past few decades, automotive designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker has been working on high-performance luxury sportscars and unique coach-builds...

Dossier

Elaphe L1500 in-wheel motor

The L1500 has been designed to enable it to be used in a wide range of OEM EVs and HEVs. Rory Jackson reports on how it was developed. Slovenian company Elaphe is known in the e-mobility industry for its in-wheel propulsion technology, which is used in a range of automotive applications around the...

Deep Insight

Power and torque density

How do you choose the most suitable type of motor for a given application? Peter Donaldson gets some expert input. One of the many challenges facing the developers of the BB Green ferry project was finding an electric propulsion motor of sufficient power, power-to-weight ratio, compactness and...

Show Report

Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo Europe 2018

Lawrence Butcher reports on some of the latest products that caught his eye at this major e-mobility show. May 2018 saw this annual expo take place in Hanover, Germany, where it also incorporated The Battery Show. Concurrently, the conference element of the show saw a...

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Connectors

Choosing the most suitable type of connector for an electric vehicle subsystem is governed by a range of factors, as Rory Jackson explains. Connectors are such vital components in vehicles that they make any explanation of their role redundant. What can be underestimated though are...

PS

Superconducting aircraft motors

Power density and power-toweight ratio have always been very near the top of the list of essential attributes for aircraft propulsion systems, particularly in those elements that work at the sharp end of converting stored chemical energy into thrust (writes Peter Donaldson). Rockets aside, the gas turbine engine has yet to be beaten in this respect. In the electrified...