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August 2004
List of AC Drives and Controllers
A search was done of the web and EV list to find various AC drive systems which fit the 20-30kw (continuous) range. The list came down to:
Enova Systems Panther CEU90 Controller and EDU90 30kW drive
Solectria (Now Azure Dynamics USA) DMOC445 controller and AC55 drive (sold through ElectroAutomotive)
Advanced DC Motors AC Drive
MES-DEA TIM 600 Controller and 200-250 electric drive (sold through Metric Mind)
Siemens Simovert controller and 5133WS18 drive (sold through Metric Mind)
AC Propulsion AC-150 EV Power System
Alternatives Analysis
The various alternatives were judged on:
- Customer support
- Perceived quality
- Price
- Use within community
- Fit within constaints and requirements
- References
- Warranty
Based on this criteria, a number of systems were excluded:
- Enova Systems: the company is interested in large orders of their drives for OEM EV vehicle manufacturers. One-off prototypes, with little marketing value, are not where they want to focus their energy.
- Advanced DC: Advanced DC does make AC motors. However their AC drives are not commonly in use within EVs and we did not want to be using a system which was new to EVs.
- MES: Although MES makes a well proven, well made product, it is not in use within North America.
- AC Propulsion: ACP is touted as a very high end EV drive system. This would make a great drive for the project, however the price was beyond the budget of the project.
This left the following drive systems:
These two systems were evaluated against the evaluation criteria:
| Criteria |
Siemens |
Solectria (now Azure Dynamics USA) |
Customer Support
|
GOOD: Wide customer base, and good support through the distributor |
GOOD: Wide customer base, and good support through the distributor |
Perceived quality
|
EXCELLENT: Siemens is known world wide for their electric systems |
VERY GOOD: Solectria has been buidling EVs for a number of years in fleet systems and consumer vehicles. |
Price
|
GOOD: Siemens system is approx $9000 |
GOOD+: Solectria system is approx $7000 |
Use within Community
|
GOOD: Siemens systems have been installed and are used by a few EV enthusiast/specialists |
GOOD: Solectria is a widely used EV, yet has been installed by few EV enthusiasts |
Fit to Requirements
|
EXCELLENT: Siemens 5133WS18 drive fits the needs of the New Beetle conversion exactly |
FAIR: Although the Solectria AC55 system will fit the New Beetle, it is somewhat too large |
References
|
VERY GOOD: A number of people who have installed Siemens systems were contacted and all gave favourable reviews |
GOOD: Although there are a number of happy customers who have Solectria EVs, none have actually installed their systems |
Warranty
|
GOOD: Warranty is 10 years and will be handled locally through the distributor. It may require the motor to be shipped back to Europe for repair. |
(this was not investigated) |
Final Selection
The decision was made to pay the extra price for the Siemens system, for the following reasons:
- The Siemens system has a closer fit the needs of the project
- A larger based of EV enthusiast/specialists who have installed the Siemens systems.
- The quality of the Siemens engineering is obvious in their contruction of very high quality, OEM standard parts.
Detailed Evaluation Information
The following spreadsheet was used to evaluate the systems based on cost, power, weight:
Drive System Evaluation
Drive Power Shortlist
The Drive Power spreadsheet was used to evaluate the short list based on the fitment to the requirements of the New Beetle Project. Updated Sept 6, 2004!
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