Yes, this story was surprising to me, Chuck. I didn't realize how much of the hybrid and EV technology IP is not owned by the OEMs. I can understand the financial and technical benefits of shifting electrical power system development to suppliers, but it's odd to think of the OEMs not owning the technology in their cars.
I agree that the plug-in hybrid market will be slower in developing, naperlou. Vehicles such as the Volt have bigger batteries (although not nearly as big as those of pure EVs) and cost will be a bigger issue for those vehicles for awhile. We will see faster growth in mild hybrids and micro-hybrids that use start-stop technology, however.
Interesting story, Rob. This is going to be a big area for tier-one suppliers because the electrical architectures in hybrids are so much different than those of our more conventional gas-burning vehicles. Many of the hybrids have high power architectures of 360V or more.
Good point, Naperlou. I think Lear is in this for the long run. They are developing significant IP in this territory. With much of the hybrid and EV technology, suppliers like Lear may own more of the IP than their OEM customers.
Rob, it is interesting to see that suppliers are using CAE. This is not an environment where the customer just buys parts off the shelf from a number of suppliers and integrates them together.
While Lear may be upbeat about hybrids, I think that the market will be slow in developing.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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