methods
1 GW
I was perfectly happy with 120V... but we have a bite on BMS dev... so our customers requirements are our requirements.
Call it ~= 300V
This is for Main Contactor
Precharge Contactor
DC-DC
Switching of DC-DC if required
Looking at Relays first... we see some really high end expensive stuff:
http://www.mouser.com/new/TE-Connectivity/te-mini-k-hv-relay/
Those come in at around $50 in volume but $80 - $100 in ones and twos
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity/V23700-C0001-A408/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujboUUQ4aP1vA3DobRVN4G7q7jOoknTHQS5pv7%252bUB%2frFSWfpkrYTgD7
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity/V23700-F0002-A408/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujboUUQ4aP1vMQIXJg2w2za4vgeqHipro5jbV4WCiNxv%252b9RyGM2dVi1
Those can only switch up to 20A and are only rated up to 450V DC.
Costs about 2.8W to drive them and they are available in N.O.
CLEARLY DOMINATING THAT OPTION>.....
Would be the Gigavac P series... coming in at Under $50 in low quantity
Switching 1500V under load... with continuous loading up to 50A....
Coil can run at 12V, 24V, and 48V... for a range of 7.5V to 60V... with coil power closer to 1.2W on the low end... in a tiny package.
Gigavac clearly winning.
Next to review:
* Solid State Switching options
* The tiny relay used in the Zero Brick
We will start with the Zero Brick.
A customer brought one by for repair and we took it apart. The part number on the relay is (probably custom
)
Its a TE part manufactured in Mexico
12V coil
SUL03
CS01X0120CCB markings...
Only thing that matches up with the formfactor (assuming its COTS) is this part:
http://www.te.com/usa-en/product-4-1618391-0.html
LEV100A4ANH=RELAY,SPST-NO,12VDC
Rated at 100A (hmmmmm
)
Smaller than the GIgavac... but get ready for the price (I have not looked yet... you can be surprised with me...)
Rated at 900V
Hmm.. the Zero unit is definitely a one-off... as it has additional features packed into it.
Fine - dont need those... but do need pricing:
$128 on Arrow for similar
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/lev100a4anh/te-connectivity?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=lev100a4anh&utm_campaign=US%20-%20SKU%20-%20TE%20Connectivity%20Ltd%20-%20Dynamic%20Inventory&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnubLBRC_ARIsAASsNNk6pxk6HDlHKqPGqPfsHkzb8KwAZXb_fwPnCQwOkNHz_W9jDOcShZcaAmC9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJia5Jv_qdUCFZaTfgodQdAEKw
But then... AN OCTOPART SEARCH IS THE ONLY WAY AN INTELLIGENT HAIRLESS MONKEY WOULD SEARCH... SO...
https://octopart.com/search?q=LEV100A4ANH
At a thousand units we see the price drop to $80USD>.. which makes perfect sense if we are paying Amp for Amp for HV switching...
Call it about a dollar an amp.
$50 gets you 50A
$100 gets you 100A
(Mind you thats ultra compact high voltage switching... not normal ol' switching...)
We have a high level requirement to:
* Switch a 3W contactor with coils between 12V and 120V
* Switch a heavy duty precharge with voltages up to 300V (call it 500V... as at that point it does not really matter...)
* Switch a latching relay on mission critical control lines
* Possibly switch our own primary power (for deadman behavior at ultralow LVC with a bootstrap)
* Possibly direct power handling for Ebike level performance... call it 50A continuous... and perhaps we can combine this with PreCharge as an ultra-robust switch)
My engineering experience tells me that at lower voltages... like 120V... mosfet switching can get VERY APPEALING... and will always have some risk and complexity and heat associated with it.
Its really to be avoided where possible... as it does not scale, either in the voltage or current domain. Its sketch basically.
When it gets up toward hundreds of volts the solid state switches get VERY expensive (i.e. not a buck)
Physical switched contactor solutions meet the full range of voltage requirements.
They are simply limited by I^2*R heat... so running a pair of them in parallel is legit for current handling... Which tells me I NEED TO OVERRATE THE COIL DRIVE TO HANDLE AT LEAST 2 COILS!!!
Coils allow the user to put just about whtaever they want out there for switching...
Coils burn 2 watts
Mosfets burn 2uWatts
Sigh...
Here we go again.
New justification
We are handling power systems in the range of 1KW to 100KW
Ratios are:
1% of a KW is 10W
1% of a 100KW is a KW
So... we are at a control power of 1/5th of one percent of ebike load... and three orders of magnitude less than a percent of a Medium Size EV power...
So for 10KW - 100KW its hands down contactor
For 1KW... lets put it in perspective again.
Average rider: 20wh/mile to 60wh/mile (thats milking it to thrashing it)
2wh will take you 1/10th of a mile to 1/30th of a mile
A mile is about 2000 steps
Efficient guy is looking at taking about 200 steps to pay for his contactor. Inefficient guy may see 66 steps
Efficient guys are going to buy LiGo bricks from Justin... so lets drop them off our radar.
Inefficient guys... they eh... blow stuff up all the time equating to MUCH PEDALING.
So... I am over trying to run an ultra efficient BMS. Justin has that nailed.
I want to run a VERSATILE BMS... that scales epic.
Ok - I have made the argument again and we are not revisiting.
We are going with mechanical switching for all controls.
We are spec'ing parts with a minimum of 200% margin in the voltage domain.
We will push margin in the current domain.
Now - with that assumption... to solve PRECHARGE in an affordable way...
Cars, Trucks, Planes, Trains, Bikes, Motorcycles, Boats, enclosed bikes,,,,,,,,
ENTER SOLID STATE SWITCHING FOR 300V or BETTER HERE: No thanks unless I am paid.
ENTER MECHANICAL SWITCHING FOR 500V at low precharge levels here: He... need to dig hard into my memory for these parts. $20 relays. Look like automotive. Can switch 1000V. Sealed. Low current. Ultra special contact materials.
Speaking of ultra special materials... I was at Advanced Laser the other day... and he was cutting material which I found VERY INTERESTING.
Advanced Laser... he is a good guy. Small outfit - I like that. Send business his way.
Watch out on quotes... if you send it in inches he will quote it in mm... you get a $26 quote on a $650 job... your mistake. Know what the job should cost before getting quotes anywhere.
-methods
Call it ~= 300V
This is for Main Contactor
Precharge Contactor
DC-DC
Switching of DC-DC if required
Looking at Relays first... we see some really high end expensive stuff:
http://www.mouser.com/new/TE-Connectivity/te-mini-k-hv-relay/
Those come in at around $50 in volume but $80 - $100 in ones and twos
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity/V23700-C0001-A408/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujboUUQ4aP1vA3DobRVN4G7q7jOoknTHQS5pv7%252bUB%2frFSWfpkrYTgD7
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity/V23700-F0002-A408/?qs=%2fha2pyFadujboUUQ4aP1vMQIXJg2w2za4vgeqHipro5jbV4WCiNxv%252b9RyGM2dVi1
Those can only switch up to 20A and are only rated up to 450V DC.
Costs about 2.8W to drive them and they are available in N.O.
CLEARLY DOMINATING THAT OPTION>.....
Would be the Gigavac P series... coming in at Under $50 in low quantity
Switching 1500V under load... with continuous loading up to 50A....
Coil can run at 12V, 24V, and 48V... for a range of 7.5V to 60V... with coil power closer to 1.2W on the low end... in a tiny package.
Gigavac clearly winning.
Next to review:
* Solid State Switching options
* The tiny relay used in the Zero Brick
We will start with the Zero Brick.
A customer brought one by for repair and we took it apart. The part number on the relay is (probably custom

Its a TE part manufactured in Mexico
12V coil
SUL03
CS01X0120CCB markings...
Only thing that matches up with the formfactor (assuming its COTS) is this part:
http://www.te.com/usa-en/product-4-1618391-0.html
LEV100A4ANH=RELAY,SPST-NO,12VDC
Rated at 100A (hmmmmm

Smaller than the GIgavac... but get ready for the price (I have not looked yet... you can be surprised with me...)
Rated at 900V
Hmm.. the Zero unit is definitely a one-off... as it has additional features packed into it.
Fine - dont need those... but do need pricing:
$128 on Arrow for similar
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/lev100a4anh/te-connectivity?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=lev100a4anh&utm_campaign=US%20-%20SKU%20-%20TE%20Connectivity%20Ltd%20-%20Dynamic%20Inventory&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnubLBRC_ARIsAASsNNk6pxk6HDlHKqPGqPfsHkzb8KwAZXb_fwPnCQwOkNHz_W9jDOcShZcaAmC9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJia5Jv_qdUCFZaTfgodQdAEKw
But then... AN OCTOPART SEARCH IS THE ONLY WAY AN INTELLIGENT HAIRLESS MONKEY WOULD SEARCH... SO...
https://octopart.com/search?q=LEV100A4ANH
At a thousand units we see the price drop to $80USD>.. which makes perfect sense if we are paying Amp for Amp for HV switching...
Call it about a dollar an amp.
$50 gets you 50A
$100 gets you 100A
(Mind you thats ultra compact high voltage switching... not normal ol' switching...)
We have a high level requirement to:
* Switch a 3W contactor with coils between 12V and 120V
* Switch a heavy duty precharge with voltages up to 300V (call it 500V... as at that point it does not really matter...)
* Switch a latching relay on mission critical control lines
* Possibly switch our own primary power (for deadman behavior at ultralow LVC with a bootstrap)
* Possibly direct power handling for Ebike level performance... call it 50A continuous... and perhaps we can combine this with PreCharge as an ultra-robust switch)
My engineering experience tells me that at lower voltages... like 120V... mosfet switching can get VERY APPEALING... and will always have some risk and complexity and heat associated with it.
Its really to be avoided where possible... as it does not scale, either in the voltage or current domain. Its sketch basically.
When it gets up toward hundreds of volts the solid state switches get VERY expensive (i.e. not a buck)
Physical switched contactor solutions meet the full range of voltage requirements.
They are simply limited by I^2*R heat... so running a pair of them in parallel is legit for current handling... Which tells me I NEED TO OVERRATE THE COIL DRIVE TO HANDLE AT LEAST 2 COILS!!!
Coils allow the user to put just about whtaever they want out there for switching...
Coils burn 2 watts
Mosfets burn 2uWatts
Sigh...
Here we go again.
New justification
We are handling power systems in the range of 1KW to 100KW
Ratios are:
1% of a KW is 10W
1% of a 100KW is a KW
So... we are at a control power of 1/5th of one percent of ebike load... and three orders of magnitude less than a percent of a Medium Size EV power...
So for 10KW - 100KW its hands down contactor
For 1KW... lets put it in perspective again.
Average rider: 20wh/mile to 60wh/mile (thats milking it to thrashing it)
2wh will take you 1/10th of a mile to 1/30th of a mile
A mile is about 2000 steps
Efficient guy is looking at taking about 200 steps to pay for his contactor. Inefficient guy may see 66 steps
Efficient guys are going to buy LiGo bricks from Justin... so lets drop them off our radar.
Inefficient guys... they eh... blow stuff up all the time equating to MUCH PEDALING.
So... I am over trying to run an ultra efficient BMS. Justin has that nailed.
I want to run a VERSATILE BMS... that scales epic.
Ok - I have made the argument again and we are not revisiting.
We are going with mechanical switching for all controls.
We are spec'ing parts with a minimum of 200% margin in the voltage domain.
We will push margin in the current domain.
Now - with that assumption... to solve PRECHARGE in an affordable way...
Cars, Trucks, Planes, Trains, Bikes, Motorcycles, Boats, enclosed bikes,,,,,,,,
ENTER SOLID STATE SWITCHING FOR 300V or BETTER HERE: No thanks unless I am paid.
ENTER MECHANICAL SWITCHING FOR 500V at low precharge levels here: He... need to dig hard into my memory for these parts. $20 relays. Look like automotive. Can switch 1000V. Sealed. Low current. Ultra special contact materials.
Speaking of ultra special materials... I was at Advanced Laser the other day... and he was cutting material which I found VERY INTERESTING.
Advanced Laser... he is a good guy. Small outfit - I like that. Send business his way.
Watch out on quotes... if you send it in inches he will quote it in mm... you get a $26 quote on a $650 job... your mistake. Know what the job should cost before getting quotes anywhere.
-methods