The Marquardt Group manufactures battery management systems (BMS) for well-known vehicle manufacturers. Together with Pöppelmann KAPSTO®, the mechatronics specialist has developed individual protective elements made of plastic that reliably protect the high-voltage connectors and assembly openings of the BMS from contamination during storage and transport. The use of resource-saving recycling material ensures more sustainability.
Electromobility is a central component of the energy transition. But for the e-car to prevail over other technologies, the range is crucial in addition to being environmentally friendly. The powerful lithium-ion batteries, which make e-mobility possible in the first place, are sensitive to deep discharge, overcharging and temperature peaks. Permanent monitoring of the battery by modern battery management systems, which continuously analyze its condition, is therefore necessary. The BMS make a decisive contribution to increasing the safety and durability of batteries. One of the manufacturers of this key technology for e-mobility is the Marquardt Group. The family company with headquarters in Rietheim-Weilheim in Baden-Württemberg stands for intelligent electronic and electromechanical systems and components. In the mid-1990s, Marquardt successfully entered the automotive segment on a grand scale with driver authorization systems. Today, the company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mechatronic switching and control systems and is a partner to leading brands worldwide.
The battery management systems from Marquardt for e-vehicles from various manufacturers are highly sensitive components that must not come into contact with moisture or dust, as Felix Kammerer, mechanical developer for battery management systems at Marquardt, explains: “With our products, we operate in the high-voltage range of up to 800 volts for purely electric vehicles. Impurities can quickly have fatal consequences. For example, metallic particles can cause leakage currents, which can lead to malfunctions or even failures in the battery management system. We have to reliably protect our highly sensitive components from this.” For example, the main control unit that Marquardt manufactures for a premium vehicle manufacturer. This has several exposed high-voltage connectors and assembly accesses. In order to reliably cover the interfaces on the transport route to the customer, during storage and assembly, Marquardt relies on Pöppelmann KAPSTO®, a division of the plastics specialist Pöppelmann from Lohne. The division manufactures plastic protective elements that are produced using both injection molding and thermoforming processes and are used in industrial production. The plugs and caps prevent dirt from penetrating sensitive and function-critical components and are produced for a wide variety of target markets, e.g. for manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, construction, electronics, hydraulics, aerospace, pneumatics and measurement, control and regulation technology. The Pöppelmann KAPSTO® standard range includes products in over 3,000 sizes, which ensure the best possible protection in all conceivable applications and are always available from stock. There is also a special program of another 2,000 designs that the plastics specialist can provide within two weeks.
Customized manufacturing, perfect fit
Since the protective elements for the BMS of a premium vehicle manufacturer had to meet very specific requirements, Marquardt decided to use the expertise of Pöppelmann KAPSTO® for joint development work. Because the protective elements professional also offers its customers the rapid development of completely individual caps and plugs. To this end, Pöppelmann combines all services – from product development to series production – under one roof and offers individual product development in record time with FastLane. After a positive feasibility check, the experts from KAPSTO® create the offer including the article concept in the form of a technical drawing or article sketch within a very short time. The article design and the creation of a first prototype are then carried out on a CAD basis. Depending on the requirements, one of the two services rapid prototyping or rapid tooling is used to produce a preview or functional sample from series material. This ensures that individual protection elements can also be mass-produced as quickly as possible.
All in all, Marquardt needed an offer for seven different protection solutions for the component within a very short time. “The BMS are delivered to our customers in trays,” says Felix Kammerer. “We needed individual caps to cover the special assembly accesses and connections, because these protective elements are sometimes removed at the vehicle manufacturer’s assembly line to check the components and then put on again for further work steps. It is therefore important for the items used to have a tight fit and good handling at the same time. Another important factor was, of course, cost efficiency.” In order to provide Marquardt with samples quickly, Rapid Tooling, a service offered by Pöppelmann KAPSTO®, was used in the first step to produce prototype tools. With this generative process, the tool insert is created using 3D printing and inserted into an existing master mold. Then the production takes place from serial material. In this way, customers like Marquardt receive almost the same article from the printed tool insert for sampling that they would later receive from a steel tool for series production. The colour already corresponds to the serial product. “That was very helpful because it allows us to coordinate the various protection elements very quickly – the time factor of a project is particularly important for us developers. In addition, we have benefited from the experience and plastics expertise of Pöppelmann KAPSTO® and were happy to include some suggestions for optimization, e.g. ideas for improving handling by being able to mount the caps on both sides. All in all, it was a very solution-oriented collaboration with quick coordination,” confirms Felix Kammerer. “Due to the different shapes and sizes of the covers, we decided to use both injection molding and thermoforming, which is more suitable for larger-format protective elements,” adds Rouven Südkamp, project manager for standard parts at Pöppelmann KAPSTO®, who accompanied the project on the part of the protective element manufacturer.
Pöppelmann KAPSTO® is now producing three contact protection caps in different sizes for high-voltage connectors and one cap for a signal connector using injection molding for the BMS, as well as three other caps using thermoforming, which are intended for different assembly openings. Two of these are provided with grip tabs, which simplifies disassembly at the customer’s assembly line.
High-voltage protective elements made of PCR – for more sustainability
In the project, Marquardt benefited from the fact that the plastics experts from Pöppelmann KAPSTO® already had experience with these applications thanks to the development of their own standard series of protective elements for the high-voltage (HV) area. These flowed into the design of the individual HV protective caps for the battery management device manufacturer. The HV protective caps are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycling material in the plastic used. This material consists of used plastic products that have already gone through a product life cycle and are then collected and sorted. Pöppelmann KAPSTO® also uses the high-quality PCR-PP (polypropylene from post-consumer recyclate) for its new HV protective covers from the standard range. In terms of dimensional accuracy, ease of assembly and functional requirements, the material does not differ from virgin PP. The resource-saving protective elements were created as part of the PÖPPELMANN blue® initiative, which bundles all of the plastics specialist’s activities that promote a closed material cycle. Since January 2021, the HV protective elements made of PCR-PP have carried the renowned Blue Angel environmental label, which is awarded by an independent jury on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment. “Many of our current standard series are now also available as resource-saving PCR protection elements. Numerous customers have already used the more sustainable protective elements and confirm the proven KAPSTO® quality. After removal, the plastic caps and sealing plugs can be recycled again after individual inspection and can thus close the material cycle,” explains Rouven Südkamp. This convinced those responsible at Marquardt, says Felix Kammerer: “Sustainability is lived in our company and the environmental concepts of our customers also aim to keep the use of raw materials as low as possible. The use of PCR is obvious for the protective elements that are intended for single use. Since we have had very positive experiences with the products from Pöppelmann KAPSTO® in terms of fit and handling, we are currently checking whether we should also switch other items to PCR material.”
Profitable solution, great need
In the future, many other customers of both partners will benefit from the experience with the protection solutions in the high-voltage area, which Pöppelmann KAPSTO® was able to further expand in the joint development project with Marquardt. Those responsible at Marquardt have already discovered that the individually developed protective elements can also be used well in other projects. And the plastics experts from Lohne are pleased to be able to support numerous other interested parties from the industry with their expertise, says Rouven Südkamp: “We are seeing a sharp increase in demand for protective solutions in the field of electromobility, which our development department is constantly expanding its expertise with new and changing requirements can be proven.”
Infokasten
Protective elements from KAPSTO® for highly sensitive BMS from Marquardt
Marquardt GmbH manufactures battery management systems for well-known vehicle manufacturers. In order to minimize the risk of damage during the transport to the user, the company uses protective elements made of plastic from Pöppelmann KAPSTO®. Individually developed for the respective application and also for applications in the high-voltage area, the protective caps ensure a tight fit on the transport routes and simplify handling. When making the selection, Marquardt attached great importance to the conservation of resources and choose items made from 100 percent PCR, among other things. Thanks to the positive experience, the use of the recycling protection elements made of plastic is now to be expanded.
About Pöppelmann KAPSTO®
The Pöppelmann KAPSTO® range of standard parts, which has been continuously expanded for more than fifty years, includes more than 3,000 different plastic caps and plugs, which are delivered directly from stock. In addition to the wide standard range, the engineers and technicians at Pöppelmann KAPSTO® also develop individual protection solutions in close partnership with the customer, including thermoformed trays developed to customer requirements. More than 2,500 employees worldwide and the many years of experience of the traditional family company ensure high quality and productivity as well as the individual service of the plastics specialist.
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Keywords
HV protection elements, HV protective caps, HV protective covers, Recycling protection elements, PCR protection elements, plastic caps, PCR-PE, high-voltage plug, protective element, protection cap, plastic cap, plastic plug
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Battery management system well protected with KAPSTO®
The Marquardt Group protects its highly sensitive BMS with individually developed protective caps – partly made of recyclate – from Pöppelmann KAPSTO®. More …
