Emibyte and Asterisco Tech develop an endurance test system for EV traction inverters with NI technology
A leading automotive supplier sought to optimize the validation process for their electric vehicle (EV) traction inverters. These critical components convert battery energy into motor power, directly affecting road performance, driving range, and vehicle reliability. The customer required a robust solution to anticipate critical design or process issues that existing validation methods could not detect and to replicate faults observed by end users to improve reliability and safety. Another challenge was to manage multiple Devices Under Test (DUTs) simultaneously under realistic operational conditions. Emibyte, in collaboration with Asterisco Tech, developed an Endurance Test System designed to meet these requirements by using National Instruments (NI) hardware and software.
Emibyte – NI Partner Consultant
Emibyte is a software integrator and NI Partner Consultant based in Helsinki, Finland. With expertise in LabVIEW and TestStand, Emibyte specializes in delivering tailored test and measurement solutions for industries including automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing.
Asterisco Tech – NI System Integrator
Asterisco Tech is a system integrator and NI Silver Partner based in Italy. Asterisco Tech designs and manufactures turnkey solutions for validation and production testing of electric, electronic, mechanic and hydraulic devices for the aerospace and automotive industries. The company is committed to delivering high-quality tailor-made products that meet the evolving needs of R&D and production departments worldwide.
Inverter Endurance Testing
A key validation step in the development of this test system was the Power Thermal Cycle Endurance (PTCE) test. This test required the DUTs to operate under specific thermal and chilling conditions while simulating real-world scenarios. The delivered solution provided:
- Parallel Testing: Capability to manage up to 4 (+2) DUTs simultaneously.
- Vehicle condition emulation:
- Connection to sensors (Resolvers) and loads (Inductors).
- Generation of road mission profiles, including Torque/Current for the inverter and RPM for the Resolver.
- Communication with the Driver Control Board.
- Battery simulation
- Power Supply Management: Handling both low voltage (LV) and high voltage (HV) power requirements.
NI Hardware and Software Architecture
In the solution Emibyte took full responsibility for software development, including requirement gathering, development, validation, and deployment. Asterisco Tech handled hardware integration and system-level validation.
The system’s hardware was configured to ensure flexibility, scalability, and reliability:
- General Purpose Test Racks: Modular and adaptable to various test configurations.
- Parallel Testing: Designed to handle multiple devices simultaneously.
- High Voltage Battery Emulators: Integrated for realistic power simulations.
- Resolver Emulation: Accurate replication of motor signals.
- Load Simulation:
- Load Box with 4 Inductors (Static Loads).
- Cooling System and Climatic Chamber Integration:
- 6 Coolants: Capable of maintaining temperatures from -20 to +70 °C.
- 1 Climatic Chamber: Ranges from -20 to +105 °C, supporting up to 4 (+2) DUTs.
- Power Supplies:
- 3 High Voltage Power Supplies (4 quadrants).
- 6 Low Voltage Power Supplies.
- NI hardware:
- Control Infrastructure:
- 2 Racks (LV & HV) with Control PLCs.
- Industrial PC for HMI management and monitoring.
Results and Benefits
Using NI PXI hardware together with NI LabVIEW and TestStand software Emibyte and Asterisco Tech were able to design and develop a flexible and reliable inverter endurance test system that resulted in improved test quality and time savings for the customer. This strategy also shortened development time from months to weeks and reduced the maintenance efforts, while providing flexibility and scalability for future improvements.
In less than 6 months the companies were able to deliver the test bench to the customer, perfectly in time for the inauguration ceremony of their new validation laboratory. Therefore, the customer has been fully satisfied of the final result!