Metrology Solutions for eMobility

With ZEISS eMobility Solutions, ZEISS is offering metrology and inspection solutions that provide seamless quality assurance for the entire powertrain in hybrid, electronic and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. ZEISS will present selected solutions at the Control trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany, from 7-10 May 2019.

ZEISS is responding to the move toward eMobility in the automotive industry – a transformation that will impact the powertrain as well. Whereas a combustion engine and highly complex multi-gear drives currently enable vehicle propulsion, a battery, power electronics, an electric motor and a two-speed transmission will do this in the future. Vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers are already developing new production and assembly processes.

"ZEISS is leading the way when it comes to quality assurance for vehicles with combustion engines," says Patrick Stempfle, Project Manager for New Energy Vehicles at ZEISS. "This expertise complements our optical know-how and sensors. We are now applying this to electric vehicles and thus supporting the automotive industry with electrification by helping them meet the increasingly stringent requirements in quality assurance." ZEISS eMobility Solutions address all four core components – the battery, performance electronics, the electric motor and the powertrain. "ZEISS is the only one-stop shop for quality assurance solutions that cover the entire powertrain for an electric vehicle – from energy to eMotion," adds Dr. Robert Zarnetta, Head of Industrial Microscopy Applications at ZEISS. The range of measuring tasks is on the rise, ranging from contact measuring jobs and optical measurements to X-ray microscopy.

The battery plays a pivotal role in determining the performance, range, reliability and service life of an electric vehicle. The quality criteria necessitate the selection of suitable raw materials, the creation of a design with exact dimensions for the cells, modules and battery trays and narrow tolerances during final assembly. Here, light, electron and X-ray microscopes as well as computed tomography and coordinate measuring machines from ZEISS are used.

Power electronics control the flow of energy between the battery and the eMotor. Performing quality inspection for semiconductors, circuit boards and completed electronic modules ensures their efficiency and reliability together with miniaturization and improved performance. Customers benefit in particular from electron and X-ray microscopes for measurements of just a few microns, contact measuring technology and automated image processing techniques in the millimeter range – all of which are part of the comprehensive ZEISS product portfolio.

Electric motors are true powerhouses. To ensure they offer optimum performance, all components must meet maximum quality requirements in production. The production and assembly of stator and hairpins along with the sheets of metal comprising a stator and rotor present a particular challenge when manufacturing the latest generation of motors. ZEISS covers the complete quality assurance spectrum with contact and optical measuring machines.

Just two fixed gears instead of switching between nine different gears with combustion engines – the arrival of electric cars will mean major changes, starting with the motor and extending to the powertrain. The latter consists of a motor and transmission, which are found in the same housing. This reduces the number of components and thus the weight, albeit not the quality requirements. To ensure optimum performance, less wear and as little noise as possible, various measurement and inspection steps be carefully matched. ZEISS offers all the necessary measurement tools for this.

ZEISS eSolutions is a complete package, including consultation. "ZEISS eMobility Solutions make us the leading partner for solutions that enable seamless quality assurance for the electrification of powertrains," says Andrzej Grzesiak, Head of Metrology Systems at ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions.