Formula Cruisers Season 20/21

Eurocircuits and the Formula Cruisers partnered up again for the season 20/21. Our Electrical department managed to design a couple of PCBs we want to tell you about.

The TSAL (Tractive System Active Light) indicates the status of the Tractive System powering the car. The system measures the voltage over the Tractive System and the state of the contactors. This is required so we know the state of the Tractive System (safe/not safe) at all times, guaranteeing the safety of our driver and engineers.

A light is connected to the TSAL PCB flashes as status indicator. It will flash red when a voltage is present or a contactor is closed, and a green light when the vehicle is safe to operate on.

The BSPD (Brake System Plausibility Device) is displayed in the picture above, this system is a part of the shutdown circuit of the racing car. The task of the BSPD is to check whether the conditions of the brake system are correct. This is done by measuring the pressure on the brake pedal and the power supplied to the motors. The BSPD will open the shutdown circuit when hard braking occurs, whilst more than five kilowatts is delivered to the motors.

To operate the accumulator safely, the countereffects of the inrush current must be dealt with. A pre-charger circuit will charge the traction system to 95% of the accumulator voltage, dissipating the inrush current as heat in a dissipating resistor. A microcontroller will then regulate the opening and closing of the safety relays to allow safe operations of the connected circuitry. The PDC circuit will also power a voltage indicator LED and a discharge relay designed to discharge the traction system after the accumulator has been switched off.

We want to thank Eurocircuits for their expertise, helping us to further adjust our circuits with the PCB Visualizer. We are looking forward updating everybody about our achievements in the next blog.

In the BSPD there are three incoming signals: the current sensor, the pressure sensor, and the 12 volts from the LVMS (Low Voltage Master Switch). When all the conditions of the brake system are correct a latch will close, which makes the BSPD a closed element in the shutdown circuit and 12 volts will be supplied to the next system in the shutdown circuit.

For more information please visit our website The Formula Cruisers