Alma Automotive provides electrified test cells and its expertise to offer testing services dedicated to electric powertrains. Our test engineers are ready to supervise the tests and create accurate reports at the end of each one, following the customers in every step.

The company has developed a model capable to perfectly simulate the battery pack, starting from the characterization of the cells used or supposed to be used. The system can emulate the electrical and thermal behavior of the device under test. Having the ability to drive power electronics from several suppliers, our system is very flexible and accurate. The common 600V DC bus is used to drive a 200kW battery emulator up to 1050V.

The electric machine to be used as a dynamometer is chosen according to the specific needs of the test: this can be supplied directly from the Borghi&Saveri catalog or purchased ad hoc from our selected suppliers.

Various tests can be performed for the characterization of the electric powertrain, including:

• Performance verification of the electric motor in specific operating points and in regeneration/brake mode
• Motor electrical check and Back EMF (before and after the test)
• Performance characterization of the electric motor in various operating modes (locked rotor, regeneration, max torque)
• Endurance, duty cycle and speed test
• Complete inverter calibration

Each test cell is equipped with an acquisition system based on the National Instruments platform, featured with temperature, pressure and accelerometer sensors. The test management system can directly or remotely control every component of the test cell, such as ventilation, power supplies, safety systems and it can digitize any type of test cell transducer.

Thanks to our custom-made thermal management system, we are able to simulate and reproduce the thermal management of the electric motor and inverter. We are able to perform motor and inverter tests by managing the coolant temperature in real time, emulating the temperature profile that would actually occur in the driving cycle or by testing the components at a desired temperature.

The system installed in the test room allows to the mechanical characterization of the system, by measuring:

• Torque and cogging torque
• Speed
• Vibrations
• Temperatures
• Flow rates and pressures (H2O/Glycol cooling system)

Drag tests can be conducted to measure mechanical losses and we are able to electrically characterize the system under test, using precision power analyzers.

• Accurate measures of efficiency
• AC/DC Current and Voltage measurement
• Motor winding resistance

We can also supply our Predictive Maintenance tool to determine deviations from healthy conditions of the device under test in working conditions.
The A.I. based system uses input data to estimate expected indicators levels (plant model) and then compares them with actual indicators intensities. The approach can be extended to estimate the remaining useful life or optimal maintenance intervals.

Beverage companies do not know the exact dynamics that involve their own products in the so-called "last mile".

The question is: when, how, and who is pouring a drink?

Over more, the increasingly need to monitor the operating status of the equipment, implementing predictive maintenance algorithms and measuring the performance levels of the individual components, leads towards the use of connected technologies.

The Alma Automotive solution

Long time experience in high demanding manufacturing sectors, let Alma Automotive be the perfect partner for multiple services, from professional engineering consulting up to a complete electronic systems design.

To support the upcoming “digital revolution”, Celli Group decides to entrust the design and production of their electronic systems applied on the “smart" beverage equipment to Alma Automotive, while developing in house a complete cloud based solution for OTA management and Analytics.

A close-knit group of R&D Electronics Engineers have been dedicated to the activity, leading Celli Group to reach a full-proprietary architecture called Celli Digital Solutions and conduct several field-tests, in very short time, then launching mass production.

The innovative IoT electronic platform engineered by Alma Automotive, is leveraged by Celli Group in several industries as water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Celli Digital Solutions is in making dispensing systems “smart” by allowing them to collect and send data to a processing system to obtain valuable information on the equipment’s status, on the quality of the dispensed beverage, and on consumption habits.

It is possible to monitor in real time the status of installations, consumption, offer management, promotions, price and payments, promptly and effectively managing service and maintenance on all the installed base. This is an efficient solution from a management stand point but above all from an eco-sustainable one.

Celli Digital Solutions provides remote control over all the host systems through the ability to check the perfect conditions of the equipment at all times, or to take immediate action in case of problems. It therefore allows to leverage on huge potentials and to achieve true competitive advantages, including: sharp reduction of downtimes, limited on-site interventions, optimal spare part supply management.

QR code and NFC tag reader, touch screen, UVC led, and many other components for collecting data and creating a totally customised experience.

Celli Group

Celli SpA was created in Rimini in 1974, dedicated to the world of beverage dispensing and cooling. In 2009 the company was in a strong growth phase and hence moved to its current headquarters in San Giovanni in Marignano. In 2013, the Celli family then sold part of the company shares to the Italian private equity fund Consilium. This step projected the company towards great new challenges of expansion and internationalization, transforming a company that is already a leader in the sector of drink and beer dispensing equipment into a virtuous and established multinational company, which today is known as the Celli Group.

Benefitting from the direct experience of its founders, Celli immediately developed a customer-oriented approach. Having a company vision that is always attentive to innovation and technology has led to constant investments in research and development to create increasingly performing and efficient products. These products are, at the same time, sustainable and able to meet the needs of users. Two decisive aspects that have always guided the company: the reduction of the environmental impact that the plants produce and the experimentation of material and components. The R&D team's constant commitment of the Celli Group team has given concrete results. This includes over 30 patents developed in the last 20 years and great results achieved in the use of sustainable materials and substances in its new product line. All this has been achieved without sacrificing excellent performance. Today, the Celli products are exported to more than 100 countries worldwide.

Let's take a closer look at the case of UniBoAT, an educational and research project of the University of Bologna. It allows students and PhD students to apply their knowledge developing solutions aimed at sustainable mobility. The single-seat racing catamaran "Futura" takes energy from different sources: high pressure hydrogen converted into electricity via a fuel cell, latest generation lithium batteries and high efficiency solar panels.

The team participates in the Monaco Solar & Energy Boat Challenge (MCSEBC), an international competition open to the public, which welcomes students and professionals from all over the world to compete in three different classes: Energy, Solar and Open Sea Class

Boat & Propulsion Characteristics:

• All boats use the same base hulls
• No combustion propulsion
• Maximum energy onboard 10 kWh
• Maximum solar surface 3 m²
• Fuel Cell and Li-Ion Battery pack
• Commercial Torqeedo cruise 4.0 RL electric motor

Challenge:

• Endurance race (duration: 1.5hrs): the boat is “energy limited”, impossible to go above 4kW.
• Other races (duration: 2min max): the team needs to extract as much as possible from the battery pack to maximize the performance of the catamaran. (no power limitation).
• Electric motor: commercial Torqeedo cruise 4.0 RL and there are no other suitable electric outboard motors on the market.

UniBoAT needed to boost the electric motor reaching state-of-the-art performance.

Solution:

Alma Automotive designed a completely new inverter that controls the electric motor in order to extract the highest possible power.

The Company involved its own group of engineers dedicated to the development of electrification solutions in order to design the new power and control electronics, that guarantee greater performance without affecting the reliability of the Electric Boat Drive.

Starting from the original device, we have completely redesigned the electronic board. It was possible to double the native power, remaining within the geometries originally envisaged for the commercial inverter. The result does not affect the reliability and it ensures the maximum efficiency.

The system is based on a STM32F4 family microcontroller, it has a CAN interface used for control and a USB interface for configuration.

With the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels with those that use electricity has taken over. Focusing on public/private transport and agriculture sectors, we are witnessing an increasingly massive use of electrical technologies to replace traditional powertrains.

The magnitudes involved have changed compared to the past, leading us to develop automated test systems for elements with high specific power, generally with the need of liquid cooling.

Alma Automotive designs and produces customized test benches for high voltage components (up to 1000V), based on NI (National Instruments) platform, giving to V&V engineers tools to minimize development times and increase productivity.
In addition to this, the know-how gained on hardware systems, allows us to always be up to the project requirements while maintaining the excellent balance between performances and available budget.

The HIL systems dedicated to verify and validation (V&V) the control devices present in electrified vehicles, need to have a platform that allows you to:

• automate long test sequences;
• test several subsystems before the final product is ready;
• simulate in different working conditions and monitor all parameters;
• carry out the tests safely, so that any malfunctions do not compromise the health of the operators and the equipment involved on testing;

Alma Automotive supplies test benches capable to:

• being completely customized by the customer, with the possibility of easily integrate LabView and Simulink models;
• add and modify the scheduled test sequences;
• interact with climatic chambers and shakers, for complete environmental tests;
• keep the test staff and equipment completely safe by using isolators for electrical connections and intrusion detectors

Alma Automotive and Borghi&Saveri are pleased to invite you at the Automotive Testing Expo in Stuttgart, 21-23 of June.

📍 We are at Hall 10, Booth 1376

Automotive Testing Expo is the world’s leading international expo for every aspect of automotive testing, development and validation technologies, taking place every year in Detroit, Shanghai and Stuttgart. In Europe, as elsewhere, it is the leading event for the technologies and services in ADAS and autonomous vehicle testing, electric and hybrid powertrain testing, battery and range testing, EMI and NVH test and analysis and the full spectrum of test and validation technologies for full-vehicle, component and systems development.