Rennschmiede Pforzheim – First Electric Vehicle for Formula Student

We are Rennschmiede Pforzheim e.V., the Formula Student Team of Pforzheim University. Our members come from all faculties of our university: engineering, design as well as economics and law. Every year we build a racing car with which we take part in the international Formula Student events in the summer. At this year’s events, we competed with our first electric vehicle, the RSP21 “Sapphire”. Two synchronous servo motors serve as the drive. The low-voltage system was fundamentally adapted for this new drive concept. As our priority is primarily safety and reliability, we have developed a modular system which is divided into the following tasks:

• Monitoring and distributing the supply voltage on the on-board power supply, as well as to the fans and coolant pump
• Reading in and processing the sensor data
• Controlling the power electronics
• Status display for the driver in the dashboard
• Transmission of CAN messages to a base station via telemetry system
• Safety functions
• Monitoring of HV battery (nominal voltage 504 V)
• Monitoring of the LV battery (nominal voltage 24 V)

For each of these tasks, individual control units are developed by us and manufactured by Eurocircuits. As each of the boards only performs one task, it is easier to carry out the tests during commissioning. Two CAN busses and an EtherCAT system are installed for communication between the control units.

In the coming season, we will optimise our existing designs in terms of efficiency and weight. At the same time, the system will be expanded with new assemblies in the area of sensor technology. The production of the circuit boards by Eurocircuits is always fast, reliable and of excellent quality. We are therefore very grateful for the support of Eurocircuits and look forward to work with them in the coming season.

André Gezeck

Technical Management, Electrical Division of Rennschmiede Pforzheim

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