Automotive Engineering - April 2022 - 26

DRIVING
electrified powertrain
systems design
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FEATURE
Customers see " a little
company that offers the
same level of software
and cutting-edge tools
as the big guys, " says
DSD North America boss
Jon Brentnall.
He recalled that in a previous consulting experience, the organization
was in perpetual search for customers, often because
budgets weren't protected and the clients were subjected to a
constant churn of staff. " Many of the customers we've had since
2007 are still with us; we just built on them, " noted Ben Chiswick,
director of engineering business development. He and Brentnall
said overheads are kept low and each year since its founding,
DSD has reinvested 100% of profits back into the company.
" What our customers see is a little, agile company that offers
the same level of software and cutting-edge tools as the
big guys, " he said. " We have world-class test facilities, albeit
on a smaller scale, all for electrified-powertrain development. "
DSD's full-factorial ePOP tool produces efficiency maps of all the
elements in the powertrain.
The ePOP tool school
Traditionally, OEMs engaged the industry's engineering consultancies
when a program fell behind in timing, or planners misjudged
resource requirements, or they encountered other hurdles.
Electrification is causing both startups and incumbent makers to
engage with DSD ever earlier in their development programs.
Some customers come with more direction and specific requirements.
Others have less focus. For both, DSD offers its proprietary
system-level product planning tool called ePOP - the
Electrified Powertrain Optimization Process. The ePOP tool helps
product developers understand how to meet program and customer
requirements within multiple parameters such as battery
size and performance, for example. From that tool, DSD engineers
work with them in establishing subsystem requirements.
" It's part of our R&D investment, " Brentnall explained. " Tier
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1s would come to us and ask, 'What's the most efficient transmission,
a parallel-axis gearset or a planetary?' But while
they're just looking at the gearbox, their customer is concerned
about the cost of the battery! They should instead be
looking at system-integration synergies. They should be
weighing motor topologies - axial flux vs. radial flux?
Permanent magnet machine vs. induction? Or, in the inverter,
gallium nitride vs. silicon carbide? "
As a full-factorial tool, the e-POP produces efficiency maps
of all the elements in the powertrain. It provides " thousands
of powertrain scenarios all running against the vehicle drive
cycle and produces architecture solutions based on them, "
according to Brentnall.
The e-POP tool is a significant time-saver for engineers and
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26
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planners, but it also benefits makers of e-motors and electrified
drive modules who sell to Tier 1s and OEMs. " Without an
effective tool, how are those companies going to prove to
their customers that their electric machine could be part of a
system that can help reduce cost of the whole vehicle? "
Brentnall asked rhetorically. " With ePOP, they can put their
machine into the tool and compare it with the competition.
Because if they don't do it, their customer will. "
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: DSD
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Automotive Engineering - April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - April 2022
