Custom Smart Inverter Project with an NEV OEM Unlocks Further Growth
Against the backdrop of the "new four modernizations" in the automotive industry, new energy commercial vehicles are placing unprecedentedly high demands on the integration and reliability of onboard electronic products. A leading domestic light-duty new energy commercial vehicle manufacturer planned to add a smart onboard inverter to its new-generation logistics vehicle model. The inverter was intended for drivers to charge laptops and power small tools on the go. Not only did it need to output a pure sine wave, but it also had to be deeply integrated into the vehicle's architecture, support CAN bus communication for interaction with the vehicle control unit (VCU), and feature a low-voltage battery protection function to prevent battery drain and breakdown. Faced with this quasi-automotive-grade custom project, ACETOP once again stood out with its integrated R&D and manufacturing strengths.
After the project was launched, ACETOP’s R&D center in Shanghai quickly formed a cross-functional project team covering hardware, firmware, structure, and thermal design. The biggest technical challenges lay in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the adaptation of the CAN communication protocol. Our hardware engineers employed a multi-layer PCB layout, combined with magnetic rings, common-mode chokes, and an optimized MOSFET driver circuit, to reduce electromagnetic interference to the limit, ensuring no impact on the vehicle's onboard receiver and other control modules. The embedded team developed CAN communication software on an RTOS that complies with the vehicle manufacturer's UDS diagnostics and network management specifications, successfully enabling information exchange between the inverter and the VCU. This included receiving battery state-of-charge data, intelligently adjusting the output power threshold, and automatically entering sleep mode when the battery level fell below the threshold. The structural team used thermal simulation software to iterate on the heat sink fin and fan duct design multiple times, ultimately achieving a temperature rise of no more than 40°C under full power operation within a compact chassis.
The rigor of the validation phase exceeded that of ordinary consumer electronics by several levels. ACETOP’s laboratory collaborated with the customer to complete a two-month series of DV (Design Verification) and PV (Production Verification) tests, including dozens of durability tests such as high and low temperature cycling, damp heat cycling, salt spray, mechanical shock, and vibration. Notably, during a high-temperature durability run test lasting 1,000 hours, all samples passed with zero failures, fully verifying the robustness of the design. Leveraging our complete integrated manufacturing process, after passing the customer’s PPAP audit, we quickly switched to mass production mode. The mold workshop ensured high-precision die-casting and high consistency of the aluminum housing, and the assembly center introduced mistake-proofing tools to guarantee that every screw torque and connector fit was in place. Before leaving the factory, every inverter underwent rigorous screening by a fully automated test bench, including input/output characteristics, protection point accuracy, and CAN communication message verification.
After tens of thousands of these inverters were successfully installed in vehicles and their reliability was validated through actual operation, the vehicle manufacturer highly recognized ACETOP's R&D and quality control capabilities. They proactively proposed that we develop and supply the portable air compressors and simple vehicle maintenance tool kits used by drivers. Our design team customized the compressor's storage shape to fit the vehicle’s storage space, and optimized the cylinder and motor efficiency for lower operating noise and faster inflation. This series of extended collaborations not only significantly increased the value provided per vehicle but also deeply integrated us into the customer’s supply chain ecosystem, making us a trusted, long-term technology partner on their path to electrification.
ACETOP is always committed to providing technologically advanced and reliably quality products and solutions. We firmly believe that sustained investment in R&D, a rigorous manufacturing system, and a persistent pursuit of customer value will drive us to continuously explore new frontiers in the automotive electronics field together with our global partners.
