BRUSA successfully implements in-house test bench concept
Prior to shipping to customers, BRUSA HyPower’s high-efficiency power converters are put through a number of climatic tests in the in-house test lab. Products can only be launched on the market once they have successfully undergone all the rigorous tests. In order to optimise costs and space, BRUSA HyPower’s engineers have developed an in-house test bench concept, reducing investment costs compared to conventional test benches to below 20 percent.
Buchs SG - 07.03.2023, 14:30
Due to the high power levels of the products, conventional test benches require a large number of current and voltage sources. This results in very large, unmovable and cost-intensive test benches. “In order to expand our testing infrastructure, we joined forces with our product engineers to develop a new test bench concept,” says Adin Tuhcic, Head of Test Systems & Infrastructure at BRUSA HyPower. The specially developed concept allows several hundred kilowatts to be circulated between two test units. This means that only a fraction of the required energy has to be supplied by external current and voltage sources. “The specially developed test benches have enabled us to reduce investment costs to below 20 percent compared to conventional test benches,” Adin Tuhcic explains.
Safety, reliability and cost-efficiency
In addition to the concept design, electrical engineering and mechanical manufacturing, the test software was also developed 100 percent in-house. “This software is one of our key competencies,” Adin Tuhcic emphasises. The test software has numerous functions that ensure the accuracy and reliability of the tests. For example, the BRUSA test software features a so-called “watchdog” that monitors the safety limits. If any limits are exceeded or undershot, it notifies the operators or initiates a controlled shutdown of the system.
The in-house test bench design has been in operation since the beginning of 2023 with an initial seven systems in Switzerland and is now being launched at the company’s Chinese production site in Shenzhen. The company has thus achieved another milestone in terms of safety, reliability and cost efficiency in the testing process.
About BRUSA HyPower
BRUSA HyPower AG, headquartered in Buchs (Swiss canton of St. Gallen) was founded in 2021 as a spin-off from BRUSA Elektronik AG, a leading supplier of power electronics for e-mobility since 1985. BRUSA HyPower is specialised in electrical energy conversion components such as DC/DC (direct current) converters and on-board charging systems. The company provides international customers with power electronic products for on-highway, off-highway and stationary applications and employs 300 people, mainly in Switzerland.