Weinheim, April 10,
Vibracoustic, a leading global automotive noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) expert, has engineered state-of-the-art solutions that significantly enhance the driving comfort and experience of a premium electric pickup truck. Air springs, jounce bumpers and hydro bushings tackle unwanted excitations and support the performance of the all-electric pick-up truck.
Vehicle electrification presents new challenges for OEMs and suppliers, including increased vehicle weight, higher pre-loads, battery range anxiety and additional noise awareness impacting driver and passenger comfort. Vibracoustic engineers drew upon the decades-long NVH expertise and developed a number of solutions for a premium electric pick-up truck which support different aspects of the NVH performance and increase the overall comfort of the vehicle.
Taking account of the vehicle’s size and mass, as well as its 10,000-pound towing capacity, the air spring system needed to be highly capable and durable to manage the vehicle weight and performance. Vibracoustic’s robust single-chamber air springs on both the front and rear axle proved to be a suitable solution for handling the loads while increasing comfort, ride quality, range and control. The air springs also enable two inches of ride height adjustment in both directions at all four corners, allowing for automatic leveling and straightforward trailer attachment, easy loading and unloading as well as comfortable entry and exit.
Integrated into the air springs, Vibracoustic jounce bumpers, and top mount isolator elements further support the damping performance and account for excitation coming from driving on uneven terrain. The jounce bumpers assist vehicle handling and increase damping capability by absorbing energy from irregular road events. Additionally, Vibracoustic supplies fluid-filled hydro bushings for the steering gear system, which are designed to optimally dampen vibrations that are transferred from the wheels to the occupants. The fluid adjusts the dynamic properties of the bushing for increased comfort and the integrated radial plastic stoppers limit the radial displacement and high loads, which makes them a good fit for heavy vehicles.
Drawing on the decades-long NVH expertise, Vibracoustic continuously resolves the future mobility challenges. For trends such as electrified powertrain and demand for utility vehicles, suspension and air springs options provide an excellent solution for dealing with the increased vehicle weight, while enhancing the durability and comfort.
Darmstadt, 17 November |
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Vibracoustic developed an air springs system, providing both excellent comfort and dynamic performance for a sporty SUV of an European premium car brand. The system features innovative switchable three-chamber air springs with actively controlled shock absorbers, the electronic control unit (ECU) including software and the integration of the system components into the full vehicle system.
The switchable three-chamber air springs from Vibracoustic offer a great level of flexibility. They can switch individual air chambers on and off and therewith allow the stiffness of the springs to be doubled over four different settings – from soft to stiff. The Vibracoustic ECU not only controls the air springs but also integrates the shock absorber application software. It therewith actively controls the shock absorbers regarding jounce and rebound individually by controlling all eight shock absorber valves. The combination of switchable air springs and actively adjustable dampers gives a wider choice in comfort and dynamic performance for the sporty SUV and provides an outstanding suspension performance.
By providing not only the air springs but also the ECU for the air springs system, the software and the integration into the full vehicle system, Vibracoustic provides a pre-validated air springs system specifically tailored to the needs of the customer.
“With over 20 years of experience in developing and producing air springs for the automotive industry, it was still a very special project for us to deliver not only our three-chamber air springs but also our own ECU and software. The system perfectly fits the needs of our customer to realize an outstanding off-road performance while securing the dynamic and sporty performance of the premium SUV,” states Jörg Böcking, CTO at Vibracoustic.
Air spring suspensions are increasingly popular as they fulfill various demands for improved comfort as well as optimized driving dynamics. They can keep the vehicle at a constant level, raise and lower the ride height to tackle a wide range of terrain or adjust the degree of stiffness, depending on the driving situation.
With a dedicated team of air springs, system, software and ECU hardware engineers as well as comprehensive air springs expertise, Vibracoustic supports manufacturers throughout the whole development process to improve their vehicle’s driving comfort and handling. This ranges from defining the requirements of various components and their characteristics to developing and specifying entire ECU, including their base and application software for all kinds of air springs systems.
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