INVT DA200 Series PN Servo for China's First Robotic Heavy Truck Power Exchange Station

On July 22, 2021, China’s first robot side-switching heavy truck battery swapping station was put into operation in Xining, Qinghai.This is the first urban waste truck electrification pilot demonstration project in western my country.

"Battery swapping" refers to separating the electric vehicle and the battery. When the new energy vehicle is low on power, it can be replaced with a fully charged battery at a battery swapping station.

For heavy-duty trucks (referred to as: heavy trucks), compared with charging mode,The battery swapping mode can effectively solve pain points such as scarcity of charging parking spaces, large battery capacity, and long waiting time for charging.Fully improve the utilization rate of heavy trucks and become an effective solution for heavy truck electrification energy supply solutions.

Project activity site

In the context of actively serving the dual carbon era, this power swap station located in Nanchuan Industrial Park, Xining City, covers an area of 10 acres，It can save 1.5 million liters of diesel per year, replace 8 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, and reduce carbon emissions by 1,075 tons per year.
1. Customer needs

This is China's first robotic heavy-duty truck battery swapping station. It has original patents such as multi-level configuration of the robotic arm and asynchronous control.The principle of the equipment is that the robotic arm robot transmission is composed of four servos, and the battery swap vehicle is fixed at the corresponding position. During the battery swap process, the robot arm pulls out the truck battery, places it in the control room, and replaces it with a fully charged new battery from the control room. Batteries are placed in the battery storage area behind the truck cab.

This also requires:
①The servo has high reliability, stable product quality and high positioning accuracy
②The power exchange can be completed in the shortest time. Due to the need for the servo to run at overspeed, the motor has strong overload capability.
③The servo can support PROFINET communication method

2. INVT solution introduction

Based on customer needs, INVT provided four servo drives that support PN communication - DA200-F0 series for this power swap station.

INVT solution topology diagram

INVT solution configuration

3. Advantages of INVT solution

* The motor has high protection level and can adapt to various environments
* PROFINET bus communication, simpler control, simple wiring, convenient for later after-sales work
* Use absolute value motor, no need to return to origin, higher efficiency
* The motor has strong overload capability and high positioning accuracy

4. Customer benefits 

Through INVT’s solution, this is China’s first robotic heavy-duty truck battery swapping station:
* Achieve six core technical advantages such as high redundancy, high precision and high reliability
* The driver to complete the entire battery replacement process with “one-button operation”
* Achieve precise positioning of vehicles and battery boxes and rapid battery replacement
* Provide uninterrupted power replacement service
* A single fully automatic battery swap takes no more than 4 minutes
One battery replacement station can ensure the round-the-clock operation of 50 electric muck trucks 

As environmental protection policies become increasingly strict and electric drive technology continues to mature, the electrification of heavy trucks, construction machinery and other operating vehicles will become a future development trend.

The cooperation between INVT and China's first robotic side-switching heavy truck battery swapping station not only represents INVT's comprehensive recognition of product quality and service levels, but also represents "continuous new achievements in promoting ecological protection and high-quality development of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau." Vivid practice of important spirit.