E-Mobility Engineering 019 | In conversation: Stephen Lambert l WAE EVR l Battery case materials focus l Quality control insight l Clipper Automotive Clipper Cab digest l Optimising battery chemistries insight l Powertrain testing focus

46 May/June 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering components, making it more challenging to test and debug,” he says. Tomkinson points to the complex interaction of software and hardware throughout the production life of a vehicle family as a key issue to be faced. “The development ‘clock speeds’ of the many electronic control modules used throughout the car are often different,” he says. “When a unit becomes obsolete or is replaced by a superior technology, they need to be seamlessly phased in during the life of a range of models and variants. That makes testing every combination and use case a considerable challenge. All of this is compounded by the pressure to get to market quickly.” However, advances in computing power and software are also part of the solution, Perera i Vernetta argues, pointing to improved data analytics. “Advances in AI and Deep Learning are allowing us to analyse large amounts of data generated by measurement and inspection technologies, providing insights into trends and potential issues that would be difficult to identify using traditional methods,” he says. Scheider agrees, looking to a future perhaps defined by connected, autonomous, shared and electric vehicles. “Quality relies on sensors, data and statistical models, not only during the manufacturing process but also through the entire life cycle of the car,” he says. “Vehicle data used to be available only when the car was at the garage “Automated QC ensures that every product is inspected and tested the same way every time, reducing the potential for human error and variability,” he explains. “This helps manufacturers to identify and address quality issues more quickly. Second, EVs contain HV components, and automated quality control equipment can detect potentially dangerous defects or malfunctions.” Automated QC is also a natural fit for automated manufacturing, Tomkinson notes. Automation can encompass stages such as the movement and orientation of parts, the selection of inspection programmes, RFID chips or parts recognition, the operation of safety controls, and updates or adjustments to machine tool offsets. Most processes used in automated manufacturing have QC aspects inherent in them, enabling lower scrap rates, eliminating manual labour and providing higher frequencies of inspection, he adds. He explains that the dimensional information captured on or near a machine making a part soon after the machining process enables automatic micro-adjustments to the tool before the next part is made. That helps to keep features in the middle of their ideal tolerance band, based on the last component produced. “We are talking low single numbers of microns,” he says. Murakami and Ward say 100% inspection requirements – the need to inspect every manufactured part at each stage of production – are leading to inline inspection during manufacture, and pushing inspection suppliers to ensure test speeds can keep pace with production without sacrificing quality. This, they add, also makes automated inspection more important, particularly for non-traditional automakers. In some EV subsystems, inspecting every part is essential as correcting any mistakes is impractical, Tomkinson adds. Assembling a motor with uninspected parts, for example, risks having to scrap the whole assembly, because it is not viable to rework them. “Automated QC provides a reliable method of interim checks, and prevents scrap parts from progressing further through the manufacturing chain. Often it isn’t practical to do these checks manually, owing to labour costs and the general disruption to the process.” Impact of software The increasing reliance of EVs on software for their core powertrain functionality as well as advanced driver aids and comfort/infotainment features has a major impact on QC, Perera i Vernetta notes. The software’s growing complexity makes it more challenging to design, develop and test, increasing the risk that defects and vulnerabilities are introduced, and creating the need for more rigorous QC. “Also, EV software is integrated intomany different subsystems and Insight | Quality control Surface mount technology lines can be equipped with, for example, solder paste inspection and automated optical inspection systems, as well as defect review and reporting software (Courtesy of Omron)