46 September/October 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering “Time was an issue,” Legtenberg says. “We had a year to build this machine, which is only a little longer than the regular production time for a diesel-powered rig.” The compressed timeline resulted from BAM’s requirement to be ready for zero-emissions operations by the start of 2023 and Dieseko’s desire to present the machine at Bauma in November 2022. “And space was also a challenge, because these batteries are very large. The electric motors are very compact, but the amount of electronics you need to control everything is amazing, almost doubling the space you think you need.” Mobile versus industrial batteries Legtenberg reports that the team initially looked at suppliers of industrial-quality batteries, but soon changed tack. “Industrial quality sounds good, but what we need is mobile quality,” he emphasises. “Mobile quality means the batteries can withstand off-road use, high g-forces and rough environmental conditions, while industrial quality is more for stationary applications in factories. Even in this market there are not many companies that know the difference.” Integration was also challenging, he says, with five companies with different areas of expertise all having to understand one another to work together. “Our project manager Stephan Reedijk did a very good job here, but not everything went smoothly, as supply chain issues affected the newest electronic control platform hardware that IFM would deliver for the 90DRe. “All the programming was done on that new platform, but in the summer of 2022 we got the bad news that the market introduction of the platform was delayed till 2024,” Legtenberg recalls. “So then I had VSE reprogram all the hardware for an existing IFM platform. That was a real setback.” The end result was positive, however, as VSE created a complete new control system for the machine that will also be used on all the other rigs that Dieseko builds from now on. Regarding the battery system’s development, Legtenberg admits to some early scepticism about Webasto’s ability to deliver on time, but that soon passed. “I got the feeling from their top management that they put a high priority on our project,” he notes. “They put a good team together for us and we got all the cooperation we needed. “VSE also had weekly Teams meetings with the Webasto guys. It was excellent, and it was a critical factor in the project’s success.” Powertrain team building The project benefited from an established working relationship between Webasto and Danfoss on integrating the batteries with the power electronics and the motors, adds Rainer Beckert, Webasto’s senior sales manager for e-mobility. “The system was already partly pre-aligned and pre-tested with some of the Danfoss components, as we had already done a lot of projects together,” he says. The battery system Webasto supplied is modular and based on the company’s Commercial Vehicle (CV) Standard packs, which come with its vehicle interface box (VIB) and electrical battery thermal management (eBTM) system. The VIB serves as an interface between multiple battery packs and the vehicle while also fulfilling the functions of a power distribution unit, a master BMS and fuse box. The Digest | Dieseko Woltman pile-driller/driver Exploded render of the 90DRe’s machine deck showing its winches, transformer (above winches), charging ports (above transformer), battery packs, battery cooler and component cooler (upper right), along with the battery controller, converters, electric motors and hydraulic pumps (lower right)
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