UPM Racing: Advanced PCBs for EV Performance
Our boards
Front Signals
This PCB, located in the front of the car, gathers the analogue inputs from several sensors along the front of the car and then sends them via the CAN bus to the ECU, located at the rear of the car, behind the firewall.
Its design is based on our BMS Master, utilizing the same microcontroller and several of its modules, which allows us to skip some testing and researching since we already know that they work.
It has analogue filters at the inputs, that are complemented with digital filters implemented through code.
A 4-layer stack-up gives us the ability to implement copper pours on the top and bottom layers, while leaving the inner layers for the supply planes.
Its size is determined by the fact that it goes alongside our BSPD board, so we decided to use the same housing design in order to facilitate the design process since they use the same kind of connector, and a similar number of components and surface occupied by said components.
This iteration has test pads to read the most important signals at any given moment.
TSAL Logic PCB
Our TSAL is composed of three different PCBs, composing the TSAL System. At the heart of this system is the TSAL Logic PCB, which performs the HV detection from both the accumulator and the inverters, and then implements a series of logic gates and other non-programmable elements to decide which light should be on.
There is a separation between the HV and LV sides, as required by the rules, and it also has some extra modules to check for possible errors along the system (upstream) that should send TSAL into its safe state.
The HV detection module uses several depletion MOSFETs that generate a lot of heat that needs to be dissipated. To this effect, a 4-layer copper plane connected to the heatsink of the transistor has been implemented, with vias connecting all the layers, to ensure better heat dissipation.
BMS Master
Our battery monitoring system has a Master-Slave configuration, with this board controlling everything inside the accumulator, from the CAN communication to the cooling fans, and obviously all the stacks and cells, measuring voltages, currents and temperatures.
Probably the most sensitive and delicate board in our entire car, we require the highest quality and precision for its manufacturing.
Power Distribution Cone
Our driverless section attends FS UK in its AI category, in which they lend us a pre-manufactured car to which we must connect our hardware (cameras, LiDAR, GPS) and load our software.
Some of these components require a supply that is not provided by the car, so we have designed this PDU with a built in DC/DC converter to get these voltages.
It’s shaped like a cone because cones are a staple for our driverless section and a very important element of the perception software.
For more information please visit the UPM Racing website.
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