45 E-Mobility Engineering | March/April 2025 The integration of CAN bus and other interfaces enables direct communication with control units and inverters, allowing for targeted control of the devices under testing. “Collaboration with partners serves to provide comprehensive test-bed solutions for different motor types, including those with PMSM, IM and SRM architectures,” says technical product manager Martin Riedel. Automation and data analysis software supports fully automated test sequences, including cascading and looped endurance testing. Thirdparty devices, such as temperature and climate chambers, can be integrated into test setups, enabling automated, cyclical temperature variations while data analysis is performed in the background. Test-cycle results can be automatically compiled in reports in PDF or PPT format. The company offers data acquisition solutions for both component- and system-level testing. Applications include powertrain measurements using telemetry data from rotating components, such as strain gauges (the outputs relate to torque) and speed sensors, to calculate mechanical power. Multi-channel acquisition For stationary test benches, IMC’s systems use high-precision sensors, such as torque-measuring shafts and incremental encoders, to ensure accurate torque and speed measurements to support efficiency calculations. Synchronised data acquisition through multiple channels enables real-time calculations of efficiency, among other benefits. “The availability of accurate, highly sampled, and synchronised measurement data is essential for the complete acquisition and evaluation of a DUT (device under test), and guarantees valuable insights, but also prevents data loss or offset of measurement data,” Riedel says. For mobile applications, the company employs strain gauges on drive axles and uses telemetry to transmit signals from rotating shafts to stationary measurement systems. The company’s data acquisition hardware provides sampling rates up to 100 kS/s and bandwidth up to 48 kHz, facilitating harmonic analysis and capture of transient behaviour within integrated test environments. Dynamometers can simulate realworld load conditions by recording The management level sits at the top, where functions such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) take place. Autfactory’s ‘control’ package is well suited to test benches of all kinds, says the company. Its ability to create and modify test sequences graphically makes it accessible to users without deep knowledge of code, enabling them to configure the system through an intuitive interface rather than programming it. The company quotes a communication speed of under 10 ms, meaning the system can send and receive data (read/write operations) in less than 10 ms per cycle. This is crucial in real-time industrial applications, ensuring commands, data acquisition and system responses happen quickly and predictably. On a test bench, for example, a measurement would be taken, the result analysed for pass/ fail criteria and logged, and the system would move to the next step in the sequence, all within 10 ms. Broad spectrum testing IMC Test & Measurement provides solutions based around test stands, data acquisition systems and measurement software for validating prototypes, optimising products and monitoring processes in both mobile and stationary applications. Part of Axiometrix Solutions, the company makes equipment used in motor testing across industries, including the e-bike, automotive, aerospace and rail sectors. Its data acquisition systems, such as CRONOSflex, control test benches in real-time, and facilitate automated test sequences. These systems measure voltages up to 1000 V and verify currents up to 1600 A using fluxgate converters. CAN bus-based measurement modules allow monitoring of slower signals, such as temperature. Additionally, IMC provides telemetry solutions for data acquisition on rotating components. Typical applications are prototype testing and – for lower performance motors – EOL testing also. IMC’s WFT-Cx wheel force transducer in use at a test stand. These sensors are also used for on-vehicle road load measurement and coefficient of friction calculations off road (Image courtesy of IMC)
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