Vehicle Body Control Module Test System
08-10-2024
Project Introduction
With the rapid development of the electric vehicle market, an increasing number of electronic control units are being installed in automobiles. To ensure that all this equipment performs normally under dynamic conditions while the vehicle is in motion, rigorous tests are required during the production phase to ensure the reliability of switches and overall accuracies of the system. Fundamental test protocols for this system included: wipers, door locks, windows, interior and exterior lighting, horns, meters, safety equipment, anti-theft system, vehicle stability assist system, etc. Because the architecture of CAN 2.0 is no longer sufficient, leading to the development of the next-generation CAN communication framework known as CAN FD (Flexible Data-rate). Advantech provided the PCIE-1682F communication card that fully supports the CANFD bus protocol to perform all the control tests for this field.
System Requirements
- Manual tests: Use manual operation buttons to perform the tests for the various switches and variables.
- Automatic function tests: Use the computer to control the various appliances and perform the automatic tests for the various switches - and variables. No human intervention is needed, resulting in improved testing efficiency.
- Add the simulated loads and actual loads to perform the tests.
- Each sub-function test must be able to be performed under any and all of the various ignition states.
- During the test, the CANFD bus can be used to diagnose the vehicle body controller configuration data to perform tests on the various functional items.
Project Implementation
- ACP-4340: 4U Rackmount Chassis for Full-size SHB/SBC or ATX/MicroATX Motherboard with 4 Hot Swap Drive Trays
- PCE-7129: 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processor-based platform
- PCE-5B13-08A2E: 13 Slots PICMG 1.3 BP, 4 PCIe,8 PCI
- PCIE-1682F: 2-Port CAN FD Bus PCIE Card with Isolation Protection
System Description
Advantech's ACP-4340 4U rackmount chassis, supporting a full-sized SBC and up to 14-slot backplane, was chosen along with the PCIE-1682F dual channel CANFD bus communication card. This setup offers versatile connectivity to multiple PCIe and PCI cards, ideal for comprehensive edge system integration. PCIE-1682F has high speed transmission efficiency of up to 8 Mbps and can play the role of a signal transmitter for vehicle body equipment test systems that pursue zero start/stop delays. Signal isolation protection was also adopted for a control element system that has complex wiring and a variety of start/stop arrangement combinations in order to provide undisturbed signal transmission, prevent operation errors, and improve system stability. This test system used the primary CANFD bus channel to perform signal communications between the host and the electronic control units. This simulates the configuration of a finished vehicle, and performs single/multiple device on/off switch load tests through control signals transmitted from the central system. It then uses the ICOMNavi software to perform data communication and reliability analyses.
- Lighting system load simulation (turn signals, front fog lights, headlights, brake lights, etc.). Windows, wipers, door locks, and other loads.
- The automobile meter test integrates a variety of vehicle buses. Its standard configuration is the CANFD bus with the scalable FlexRay and LIN bus when needed by the test.
- Channel composite applications.
- Provide specialized testing interfaces.
System Diagram
Conclusion
The proliferation of electronic control units in electric vehicles necessitates rigorous testing to ensure reliability under dynamic conditions. Traditional CAN 2.0 architecture is insufficient, leading to the adoption of CAN FD (Flexible Data-rate) for enhanced performance. Advantech's PCIE-1682F communication card, supporting CAN FD, and ACP-4340 4U rackmount chassis facilitate comprehensive testing of vehicle systems, including wipers, locks, lights, and safety equipment. With high-speed transmission up to 8 Mbps and signal isolation protection, this setup ensures precise and reliable signal communication, improving system stability and preventing operational errors during production testing.