Customer Background
Our customer, a century-old market leader based in Germany, excels in providing smart and sustainable production solutions across various sectors such as electric mobility, energy, power, process industry, industrial production, and infrastructure. Driven by a commitment to sustainability and their vision of empowering electric society, the company continues to develop innovative solutions for electrification and automation, paving the way to a climate-neutral world.
Customer Need
Leading North American automotive manufacturers are shifting from the CCS (Combined Charging System) standard – a widely recognised standard for DC fast charging in the electric vehicle sector – to the North American Charging Standard (NACS) as their primary standard. In response, our customer sought to design EV handlers conforming to NACS. Given our extensive history of successful collaboration and over two decades of hardware and design expertise, we were the top choice of partner for designing and developing NACS-compliant EV charging handlers tailored for the U.S. market.
Softdel’s Solution
- Softdel analysed NACS standard and project requirements, then designed and developed the NACS charge port and handler, covering mechanical aspects, hardware, firmware and ensuring compliance with various standards, including IEC 61851-1, IEC 61851-23, IEC 60529, IEC 62196-1, IEC 62196-2, IEC 62196-3, IEC 62196-23, SAE J1772, UL 2251, UL 991, and UL 1998.
- Mechanical development included:
- Generating detailed 3D CAD models for components and assemblies.
- Creating a Bill of Material (BOM) with material recommendations.
- Ensuring the NACS connector met IP67 and IP44 standards for water, dust resistance, and connector-to-inlet design.
- Assembling NACS components with precision.
- Manufacturing the NACS connector.
- Conducting Design Verification (DV) testing to for ‘fit and finish’.
- Obtaining homologation from the certifying authority for vehicle roadworthiness.
- Providing ongoing maintenance and support.
- After reviewing the customer's High Performance Computing (HPC) handler and finalising the microcontroller approach, Softdel initiated hardware design in compliance with UL 991, and the full scope included:
- Creating electronic schematic design, PCB layout, generating gerber files, procuring material, and manufacturing the PCB prototype.
- Performing board bring-up and extensive testing of the newly assembled circuit board.
- Conducting Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
- Carrying out pre-compliance and functional hardware testing.
- Firmware development was designed to meet UL 1998 Class 1 software standards, and included:
- Integrating temperature sensors, control pilot (CP), and proximity pilot (PP).
- Conducting comprehensive testing, including static and dynamic code analysis and functional and unit testing.
- Facilitating UL certification
- Softdel played a pivotal role in guiding our customer through the complex process of achieving UL compliance certification, namely UL 991 and UL 1998, ensuring that the EV handler met the highest safety and quality standards. Read more about our UL certification expertise here.
Standards and Technology
Communication Protocol: CAN bus
Testing: Static and Dynamic Analysis, Vector cast, PClint, MPLab analysis tool
Programming Language: Embedded C & C++
Platform: Baremetal and RTOS-based embedded system
CPU Tests: As per UL 1998 annexure A
Benefits
- Faster time to market: The NACS-compliant EV connector expedited product development, testing, and validation, facilitating a quicker market entry with a more efficient team.
- Simplified regulatory compliance: NACS compliance harmonised with North American safety and regulatory demands, simplifying certification and hastening industry-standard compliance.
- Competitive edge: Softdel's expertise enabled the customer to capitalise on NACS's expanding market, forging collaborations with companies eager to adopt this emerging standard, thereby gaining a competitive edge.
