E-Powertrain Assembly line 48V inverter

In the electric drive, the inverter is the link between the battery and the electric machine. It is responsible for the conversion of the direct current from the high-capacity battery into alternating current. Sonplas developed a flexible production line for the assembly and testing of 48V inverters.

Maintenance activities on the modules are facilitated by the small footprint and good accessibility from the front and rear. Due to the flexible design of the line, based on standardised assembly and testing modules (individual machines), subsequent cycle scaling (50 s up to 20 s) is possible at any time. The machines are connected via a modular workpiece carrier system.

The system is loaded and unloaded at workstations perfectly optimised in terms of ergonomics. The assembly and test processes are conducted entirely automatically. The corresponding specifications for this are provided by the database-driven, flexible test plan system from Sonplas. The individual assembly and test steps can thus be configured in various sequences, numbers and parameter settings to form the desired sequence plan. Furthermore, the connection to the customers’ higher-level MES is possible at all times. A special highlight is also the built-in automatic board feeding and pressing functionality (press-fit pin). The system offers integrated product identification via DMC or barcode as well as continuous tracking of the components on the workpiece carriers within the system. This is accomplished with the aid of an RFID read/write system ensuring end-to-end tracking of the parts. In addition, an ECO mode is implemented throughout the entire system, allowing for an energy-saving operation. Due to the workpiece carrier system, the assembly line can be modified to accommodate other inverter types without major effort.