You may not really know how new energy vehicles are developed and manufactured? The following will introduce the entire process of electric vehicle development and manufacturing in detail. Welcome to collect and learn!
No.1 Complete development process of electric vehicles
I.Planning stage
Before developing new automotive products, it is usually necessary to investigate the product and the market to understand the market demand and the development of new technologies. At the same time, it is necessary to analyze the company’s own characteristics, technical level, equipment status, process level, production capacity and strength. If necessary, it is necessary to visit customers, inspect supporting suppliers or conduct necessary tests and tests.
At this stage, it is necessary to confirm the technical status, product grade, product configuration, target cost, expected selling price, reasonable profit, etc. of the new product. These are the initial data and basic basis for product development.
1.1. Conduct active market research and technical research to propose accurate market forecasts and technical feasibility reports.
Market research is to determine the expected market share of the product, and also to fully understand the market’s demand for the function, performance, safety, life, appearance and other aspects of this type of product.
Technical research includes forecasting the technical level of similar products on the current market, the new technologies, new materials and new processes used, etc.
1.2. Conduct feasibility analysis. Conduct feasibility analysis of new product development from the perspective of the company’s production and operation, master the company’s technical sources and technical advantages, predict the product development cycle and development costs and other investments, predict the output and profitability of the product, and write a product development feasibility report.
1.3. Review the feasibility report. After the review is passed, it will be included in the company’s product development plan, and then a product development task book will be written.
The task book generally includes the basis for product design and project establishment, the purpose and scope of use of the product, the overall plan overview of the product, key technical solutions, overall layout and main structure overview, basic technical parameters and performance indicators, etc.
II.Design stage The design stage mainly refers to determining the overall plan and styling plan through design, performing design calculations, drawing design drawings, and compiling design documents. If necessary, tests and design reviews are also required. The design of the whole vehicle is generally divided into the following steps:
2.1. Concept design stage
Research the product and market, understand the market demand and the development of new technologies, and put forward accurate market forecasts and technical feasibility reports. The planning department formulates the project concept based on the feasibility report, including the basic parameters of the product model, body style, similar models, development cycle, competitive advantages, production site, production program and other strategic documents for project establishment, establishes a project team, and starts project development.
The concept design stage determines the target positioning of the entire automotive product, determines the performance parameters of the whole vehicle and major assemblies, formulates the design task book of each major assembly, stipulates the design control data, and completes the feasibility study report. Concept design is the most important stage in automotive design, and many vehicle parameters are determined at this stage.
The digital simulation system of the whole vehicle based on CAE technology and a large amount of experience and test data can simulate the actual response of the whole vehicle under different road conditions, provide load conditions for the precise CAE analysis of each component, and thus conduct complex nonlinear dynamic analysis, fatigue life analysis of key components, and NVH analysis of the whole vehicle.
2.2. The main work content of the scheme design stage is to determine the overall scheme, modeling scheme, design calculation, draw design drawings, write design documents, and freeze the internal and external sludge models. This marks the end of the early vehicle development and the official start of the project engineering; the feasibility analysis of the product’s technical solution and the overall process feasibility analysis are completed.
2.2.1. Formulate design principles
The main task of this stage is to formulate design guidelines, clarify goals, determine whether it is a new product design or a modified design, whether it is an independent design or a reverse design, etc.
After clarifying the most basic technical requirements, it is also necessary to understand the country’s advanced technology in automotive products, the specific requirements of product serialization and production methods, and at the same time collect domestic and foreign information, conduct usage surveys, production status surveys, and structural analysis of similar products. Through the whole vehicle structure and appearance conception, formulate product development and design principles.
2.2.2. Selection and formulation of design tasks This stage mainly involves correctly selecting the structural form and main technical characteristics of the whole vehicle and each assembly, determining performance parameters, forming the concept of the whole vehicle, and conducting overall layout and selection work, and compiling a design task book. It mainly includes the following contents:
2.2.2.1. General layout design of the vehicle The general layout design requires that the various assemblies of the vehicle and the personnel or goods loaded be arranged in appropriate positions to ensure that the operation of each assembly is coordinated with each other, comfortable to ride or convenient to load and unload, and the main dimensions and basic structure of the vehicle can be determined.
2.2.2.2. Drawing renderings The renderings are used to express the styling effect of the vehicle. After the general layout drawing is completed, the styling designer will outline the general image of the vehicle according to the size and basic shape of the electric vehicle determined by the general layout design, or draw a conceptual sketch, or draw a color rendering.
2.2.2.3. Production of product models A reduced scale model can be made as needed. The scale model is a further expression of the styling concept on the basis of the color rendering, with a more three-dimensional image and a more realistic feel. It requires strict proportions of each part, smooth curves, and smooth surfaces. The scaled-down model can also be used in wind tunnel tests to determine aerodynamic characteristics.
2.2.2.4 Prepare a product design task book
The contents include: task source, design principles and design basis; product purpose and use conditions; vehicle model, load capacity, layout form and main technical indicators and parameters; structural form and characteristic parameters of each assembly and component, etc.
2.3. Detailed design stage After the car styling is approved, the car structure design can be started to determine the structure of the whole vehicle, components (assembly) and parts, including various parameter calculations, overall configuration, location and connection method of each component assembly, etc.
The work at this stage depends on the performance goals of the car. The key lies in establishing a complete analysis method and evaluation strategy, which mainly includes the following analysis contents:
2.3.1. The purpose of collision analysis is to improve the passive safety performance of the product. Through simulation analysis of various real car safety performance aspects such as front, side, rear, rollover, etc., defects in the passive safety performance of the product can be discovered in time during the product design stage, and improvement measures can be proposed.
2.3.2. NVH evaluation NVH performance is an important indicator for evaluating vehicle comfort and is directly related to the market image of the product. NVH analysis helps to match the vibration frequency characteristics of each subsystem in the product structure, reasonably distribute the vibration frequency and vibration mode of each subsystem, so as to eliminate the coupling phenomenon in the vibration process, thereby improving the vibration characteristics of the product, reducing the noise of the product, and improving the comfort performance of the product.
2.3.3. Overall system optimization Before the trial production of the engineering prototype, based on the theory of multi-flexible system, the optimization design problem of automobile mechanical system design and dynamic performance is solved, and the vehicle is analyzed and studied as a complete control system. The vehicle dynamics model can be established, and the virtual test field dynamic simulation analysis can be carried out for the performance of handling stability, smoothness and braking, and the characteristic parameters that mark the dynamic performance of the vehicle can be output to formulate an optimization strategy.
2.3.4. Fluid analysis Fluid analysis in the automotive industry mainly considers the drag and lift of the external flow field on the vehicle, the design of the vents of the air conditioning system in the vehicle, the heat dissipation of the engine compartment, the heat dissipation of the brake system, etc., and examines whether the appearance of the vehicle is smooth, whether the air conditioning system can quickly adjust the temperature of all locations in the vehicle, and whether the engine compartment and brake pads have good heat dissipation.
The aerodynamic characteristics of the product can be predicted in the product design stage to ensure that the product meets the aerodynamic requirements of the design after it is manufactured.
2.3.5. Product fatigue life analysis By reasonably distributing various loads in the structure, its fatigue durability performance is improved and the reliability of the product is improved. Fatigue life design requires understanding of the product’s use environment. Fatigue durability analysis includes the strength of suspension components, door strength, hood strength, trunk lid strength, etc.
2.3.6. Stamping simulation analysis Stamping forming simulation helps to determine the manufacturability of the product, optimize the stamping direction, process supplement, blank estimation and layout.
It can predict the quality defects (such as wrinkling, cracking, etc.) that may occur in the stamping of the product during the design stage, and then optimize the product design to eliminate forming defects.
Working design drawing Working drawing design refers to the completion of all drawings and technical documents for processing, assembly, sales, production management and product delivery during the trial production or production process based on technical design. Each component, part and its drawing is given a number to facilitate the management of all drawings.
Several stages of digital modeling process digital modeling, NC digital modeling and SE digital modeling.
III.Trial production test stage
The trial production test stage is the process of the product moving from drawings to practice. Prototype trial production and small batch trial production are carried out to verify the correctness of product drawings, design documents, process documents, and tooling drawings; verify the applicability, reliability and safety of the product, and complete the product identification. Through small batch trial production, various forms of product testing and trial sales are carried out to confirm the performance and adaptability of the product.
The main work of the trial production test stage includes the following three aspects.
3.1. Prototype trial production Prototype trial production refers to the production of parts according to design drawings and the assembly trial production of prototypes. The prototype trial production of automobiles is not only produced according to the drawings of automobile parts, but also requires the design of some auxiliary molds and inspection tools used in production, including the preparation of process documents and the production of necessary tooling equipment.
RP vehicle parts are a rapid prototyping (also known as rapid prototyping) manufacturing technology (Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing. Samples can be used for visualization, design evaluation, interference inspection of CAD digital models, and even for certain functional tests.
3.2. Prototype test Prototype test verifies the design and product of electric vehicles to ensure the structure and safety of the product. Prototype test is a multi- The purpose is to verify the reliability and safety of the product and conduct technical appraisal.
The entire trial production test process is also the process of automobile design from theory to practice. The main work of the trial production test is to conduct prototype trial production, master the structural processability of the whole vehicle and components, discover the problems that occur in the assembly of the whole vehicle and coordinate and solve them in time.
3.2.1. The most commonly used vehicle test verification methods are:
· Whole vehicle road (highway) test
· Field road test
· Whole vehicle bench test
· Whole vehicle dynamic and static subjective evaluation test
· Computer simulation verification analysis
3.2.2. Test verification and purpose of each stage of vehicle development
· The test and verification of the whole vehicle are always accompanied by each stage of vehicle development:
· The target establishment stage is accompanied by the test and evaluation of the benchmark prototype;
· The design and development stage is accompanied by data simulation verification analysis of the digital prototype, special performance test of the mule car, and various functional tests of the FT (functional) prototype. Verification and vehicle body related tests;
3.2.3. Assessment type, test method and equipment
3.2.3.1 Assessment types are mainly divided into:
· Function (i.e. performance)
· Strength (ability to not fail under extreme working conditions)
· Durability and reliability
3.2.3.2 Determine the test method according to the assessment type:
· Whole vehicle road test
· Whole vehicle field test
· Whole vehicle bench test
· Whole vehicle dynamic and static subjective evaluation
3.3. Small batch trial production Small batch trial production is carried out on the basis of prototype trial production test. Its main purpose is to assess the processability of the product, verify the quality of all process documents and process equipment for formal production, and further verify the correctness and rationality of the product performance, structure and product design documents and drawings after design improvement.
After the small batch trial production is completed, the design data, process documents and all drawings that have been modified, improved and finally passed the review are submitted to form a complete product document.
No.2 Electric vehicle manufacturing process
BYD and Tesla are both well-known electric vehicle manufacturers, and their manufacturing processes are both high-tech and complex.
The manufacturing processes of BYD and Tesla include three main stages: design, production and testing, but Tesla uses more advanced automated production equipment and digital manufacturing technology, which makes production efficiency higher and product quality more stable.
The design concepts of BYD and Tesla are also different. BYD uses the traditional electric vehicle assembly method, while Tesla uses an integrated design concept, which makes the performance of the whole vehicle more superior. Both BYD and Tesla attach great importance to quality and performance control, and both use strict testing and quality control procedures.
Let us reveal the electric vehicle manufacturing process of BYD and Tesla.
1. BYD’s electric vehicle manufacturing process
BYD is a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. Its production lines are mainly located in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Shaanxi. BYD’s electric vehicle manufacturing process includes three main stages: design, production and testing.
1.1 Design stage
BYD’s electric vehicle design process includes exterior design and internal structure design. Exterior design mainly includes body size, shape, color, etc., while internal structure design includes the layout of various circuit boards, battery installation position, screen installation, etc. During the design stage, BYD needs to consider various factors such as ergonomics, battery life, waterproof performance, etc.
For exterior design, BYD hired world-renowned industrial designers and used various computer-aided design software to design the appearance of the car. BYD’s designers will optimize the design based on market research and user feedback.
For internal structure design, BYD needs to take into account the layout of various electronic components and their mutual influence. The design of the circuit board is the entire production process. The most critical part of the process, which requires multiple processes to complete. Designers need to use circuit board design software to design circuit boards, and also need to consider factors such as performance and power consumption.
1.2 Production stage
The production stage is the most complex part of the entire BYD electric vehicle manufacturing process. During this stage, BYD needs to use various materials and equipment to produce various components of the car, and assemble and test them.
Material preparation
Before the production stage, BYD needs to prepare a large amount of materials. These materials include various plastics, metals, glass and other raw materials, as well as various electronic components. These raw materials need to undergo a series of processing before they can become components of the car.
Circuit board production
The production of circuit boards is the most critical part of the entire production process, which requires multiple processes to complete. The main steps of circuit board production include graphic design, printing, Chemical etching, drilling and electroplating, etc. These processes require precise operation and control to ensure the quality and performance of the circuit board. BYD usually uses specialized equipment and machines to complete these processes.
During the graphic design stage, BYD’s designers use circuit board design software to design the layout of the circuit board and the location of components. These design drawings are then transferred to the printer for printing. After printing, BYD uses chemical etching technology to etch away the unnecessary parts, leaving the required circuit board pattern.
Next, BYD will drill holes to install components on the circuit board. Finally, BYD will perform electroplating to form a conductive layer on the circuit board to connect the various components.
Assembly process
On BYD’s production line, assembly is a complex and rigorous process. The battery, motor and electronic control unit of the car are the most important components. The manufacture of batteries requires
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