ISSUE 012 Winter 2021 Sigma Powertrain EMAX transmission dossier l In conversation: David Hudson l 48 V systems focus l 2021 Battery Show North America and Cenex-LCV reports l Everrati Porsche 911 digest l Switching insight l Motor laminations focus

The company’s gearboxes can also be designed for power transmissions up to 9 MW; its biggest and heaviest project so far has resulted in a 30 t test rig. The only real limitation is the lifespan of the bearings, and COG owns a white-metal plant for producing its gearboxes’ journal bearings to spec. “Normally, epicyclic gears run on a straddle, but ours run on flexible pins,” Adams said. “Renowned engineer Ray Hicks founded Compact Orbital Gears, and his knowledge allows us to design and manufacture compact, lightweight and efficient gearboxes that are well- suited to fitting tightly into electric powertrains.” “We can manufacture using aluminium alloys, titanium, Inconels, nitriding and carburising steels, plus other materials to meet different requirements for strength, weight, cost and so on. We design them to be fully bidirectional, so that EVs can regenerate while slowing and braking without any oscillation that could cause damage or parasitic losses.” Yokogawa discussed some of its newest testing solutions for EV technologies with EME . The first was the WT5000 Precision Power Analyser, which is aimed at allowing manufacturers and testing facilities to check the electrical efficiency of a given product. “That product could be an EV, a generator or an electronics system,” said Lee Thomas. “What makes the WT5000 quite unique is that it’s a modular power analyser, so rather than having fixed inputs, the user can for example migrate from single-phase to three-phase inputs [to test an electric motor or inverter] by buying two extra elements, fixing them in the back, and the unit is ready to run as a three-phase system.” The WT5000 can incorporate up to seven phases, which could enable testing of two three-phase AC machines and a single DC-linked solution. It has a sampling rate on its analogue input of 10 mega-samples per second (MS/s), with data output to users at up to 2 MS/s. “Through our software we can also provide data outputs at one sample per second, aggregating that 2 million samples into an average value, for a more digestible picture of how the product’s test results are looking,” Thomas added. “Users can also easily integrate third-party software or their own proprietary software for post- processing test data.” The company also presented its DL950 ScopeCorder, a hybrid mixed- signal oscilloscope and data recorder intended to bridge the gap between tools built for high-speed measuring and for long-term recording. It can sample at up to 200 MS/s, and record data to an internal flash memory at 20 MS/s, with sufficient storage space for 8 billion samples. “It’s also modular, with more than 20 different module types including some that enable inputs from electromechanical products, to measure parameters such as high voltages, temperature strain, motor acceleration, inverter efficiency and even CAN bus anomalies,” Thomas noted. EME met with Carsten Astheimer of Astheimer Design at the show. The company is a key contributor to the Aura battery EV project to create an all-electric sportscar with maximum sustainability over its lifetime, a static display of which was presented in the show’s outdoor display zone. Other partners involved in the project so far have included Bamd Composites for the supply of natural fibre composites, Potenza for drivetrain and battery technologies, and Conjure for its HMI design and development. “And now Spark EV Technology has joined the team, as their software will take into account driving habits, aerodynamic inputs and climatic conditions, to output a precise mapping of the driver’s range along with maps of charging points, to help as much as possible with range anxiety,” Astheimer explained. “The lack of EV charging points in the UK and across much of the world remains a huge barrier to EV uptake, and Spark EV’s reliable range prediction system will help massively, as will the highly aerodynamic body we’ve designed, along with the contributions of our other partners who want this car to last as long as possible in terms of endurance between charges as well as overall lifetime.” The aerodynamic inputs will come from pressure scanners throughout the car, supplied by Evolution Measurement. These will enable accurate aerodynamic sensing, as well as real- time modelling of CFD aero simulations, for the driver to see how much or little efficiency they are losing to drag at any given moment, so that they can slow down or change their route to preserve range. In addition to the various road vehicles on display, RS Electric Boats attended the show with its pre-production Pulse 63 all-electric rigid inflatable boat (RIB). “Sailing is the most environmentally friendly form of boat transport – with Winter 2021 | E-Mobility Engineering 47 ShowReport | Cenex-LCV 2021 The Aura battery-electric sportscar is being designed to have maximum endurance and to have as long a lifetime as possible