The TWIKE 5 makers are starting the last round of development of the EE architecture for the time being. Electrics and electronics are the heart, brain and nervous system of the innovative electric vehicle. With professional support, the project is progressing rapidly.
Rosenthal, 05.04.2023 – The individual wires of the wiring harness of a current mid-range car, laid end to end, result in a distance of about eight kilometres. In the classic combustionengine, control units, sensors and actuators work electrically and communicate electronically with each other. Without their efficient networking, even a largely mechanical petrolengine can no longer function today, and elementary safety and comfort systems also fail.
Even though leading manufacturers in the field of e-mobility have already succeeded insignificantly reducing the physical dimensions of a wiring harness, in vehicles with purely electric drives, electrics and electronics form the core of the entire technology.In the development of the TWIKE 5, as with its predecessors, electrics and electronics are high on the list of tasks to be tackled until the prototype is completed and ready for series production. The underlying EE architecture of the TWIKE 5 comprises the power electronics including the drive motor and battery, the 12-volt on-board electrics, the wiring harness and all the components of the control electronics, such as relays and programme-executing controllers. Basically, the EE architecture includes all current-carrying components of the TWIKE 5.
„If current flows through a component or it has a plug, the colleagues in our development team from the electrical and electronics department are responsible,“ explains Bernd Werner, the EE specialist at TWIKE GmbH in Rosenthal.
With the dedicated and enthusiastic commitment of everyone involved, more than 95 % of the EE architecture has been completed so far. To complete the project, confirmation of the use of mating connectors on the wiring harness side is still missing. An impressive amount of work is being done for each individual component. This includes the basic check of the uitability of hardware offered by external suppliers. If this is the case, long-term availability in the required quantity must also be guaranteed. In addition, the use of the hardware requires the availability of detailed technical specifications from the manufacturer. These form an important basis for the work of the developers at EDAG Engineering GmbH in Fulda. As a service provider, the experienced automotive developer has been accompanying the fate of the innovative electric vehicle since the development of the TWIKE 4.„The expertise of our partners at EDAG was already invaluable during the development of the TWIKE 4 pure vehicle concept,“ explains Martin Möscheid, Managing Director of TWIKE GmbH. „We are confident that together we will also successfully drive forward and complete the development process of the TWIKE 5.“ In the procurement of potential components for the completion of the TWIKE 5, those responsible are relying on a three-pronged strategy. At least three samples will be procured.One component is used to expand the Test Bench, a test stand used in the Fulda E-Laboratory to test the product characteristics and their interaction. A second sample, after electrical commissioning, will be used in conjunction with mechanical components to complete the first prototype of the TWIKE 5. The third sample is used for practice assembly and is part of the planning of all the processes required later in pre-assembly and final assembly.
„In this exciting phase, important course is set for the future of the TWIKE 5,“ Möscheid explains. „Many processes run in parallel and in direct coordination. What we accomplish here will have a long-term impact on the success of the TWIKE 5, which is why we are literally under power every day.“