BorgWarner is opening its newest high-tech lab at its Noblesville Technical Center in Noblesville, Indiana, the company announced. The technical center, a key facility in BorgWarner’s mission to develop clean, energy-efficient propulsion systems, enables the company to develop, build, test and validate prototypes of its electric product portfolio under one roof, increasing cross-functional collaboration and improving efficiency throughout the product development and testing process, the company said.
BorgWarner’s Noblesville Technical Center lab will be focused on the development of motors and power electronics for the light vehicle and commercial vehicle markets. Engineers will have the ability to build, calibrate and test the heart of electric propulsion systems for quick feedback to design and analysis teams. Housing the entire range of engineering and development disciplines together in the same location creates advantages for BorgWarner, including the reduction of down time during the design process while fostering greater levels of collaboration.
“Having engineering, testing and prototype together under one roof is a competitive advantage as we move toward a highly technical and electrified future,” said Dr. Stefan Demmerle, president and general manager, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems. “The ability to streamline processes and improve design collaboration and responsiveness amongst engineering and prototyping will be reflected in future technologies developed at Noblesville.”
The 40,000 square-foot lab will be home to many newly built electric components that will be used in both hybrid and electric vehicles.
The Noblesville lab is designed to maximize space utilization; it moved all non-critical equipment such as high voltage cabinets, isolation transformers and battery simulators, to an equipment platform, reserving space on the main floor for additional test cells. The interior insulated walls are modular allowing for quick and easy layout changes creating an agile building infrastructure for the future.
BorgWarner equipped the facility with the entire scope of motor manufacturing equipment, which enables the prototype phase to emulate the production process and uncover lessons that can be transferred to the manufacturing plant responsible for mass production. This equipment includes wire formers, slot liner insertion, wire insertion, laser welding, varnishing and end of line testing.
