Swiss Made - Esoro
Frank M. Rinderknecht used highly advanced technology and a Swiss-based network of top automotive specialists for his project. So the Rinspeed "UC?" fits perfectly to Esoro's motto: engineered by Esoro - What you dream is what you get. For the eleventh time the Swiss engineering company Esoro was hired to serve as general contractor for the entire project. Esoro was responsible for project management, implementation of new technologies, engineering, rendering, design and the manufacturing of the Rinspeed "UC?".
Esoro realized the Rinspeed "UC?" with the help of its competent suppliers. Starting with initial concepts, it took the highly skilled development team just three months to realize the entire project. For 19 years now, Esoro has been a contract developer of concept vehicles, components and products with main focus on lightweight construction, alternative drive trains and mobility. During this time Esoro has gained a well-deserved reputation for excellent efficiency and innovative solutions, which is demonstrated by numerous prototypes and serial products.
Esoro is also developing fiber reinforced components from initial conception up to pre-production samples. In-house specialists optimize the component properties and characteristics throughout the entire development process. Important steps are non-linear, strong orthotropic Finite Element Analysis and crash simulation.
Another recent development from Esoro is the new E-LFT production technology developed for Weber Automotive. E-LFT makes large scale production of high-strength and lightweight composite parts affordable. E-LFT composite parts weigh more than 30 percent less than comparable steel parts. The tailgate of the actual Smart Fortwo - the first serial produced E-LFT-component - was produced over 300'000 times since 2007 and received the JEC Innovation Automotive Award 2008.
Furthermore another production process for niche markets, like high performance cars, trucks and caravans is now under development at Esoro. The new and patented process called Melt Embossing offers the possibility to produce high-end thermoplastic composite parts with low initial invest for structural and semi-structural applications.
Since the company was founded, Esoro has been working intensively in the field of conception, implementation and tests of alternative and optimized vehicle concepts and drive systems. Esoro is thus one of the few companies in the world with well-founded experience in development and operation of electric, hybrid and fuel cell drives. The Rinspeed "UC?" proves impressively this competence using cutting edge technology.
Saving energy and lowering environmental impact in a sustainable way - ABB powering road and rail electrical vehicles - ABB powering road electrical vehicles
This charging unit provides standard and semi-fast charging solutions that can charge an electric vehicle battery in a few hours - e.g. while the driver is at work or to charge during everyday activities such as shopping or dining out.The charging unit can be placed throughout the town or city, at company parking, public buildings, stores and large car parks. The charging unit is built for driver authentication and electricity payment according to the European LEMnet (Switzerland: Park & Charge) system.
General technical data: The electric vehicle charging station offers - Standard charging, giving a charging time of approximately 2 hours per 50 km (depending on vehicle type), 1x230V single phase plug 10A, 2x230V single phase plug 16A. Semi-fast charging, giving a charging time of approximately 20 minutes per 50 km (depending on vehicle type) - 1x400V three phase plug 32A. Varying plug integration possible based on customer needs.
Further ABB charging solutions: Residential charging: ABB home chargers e.g. wall mounted or the domestic garage. The home chargers can refill a battery during the night, reaching full capacity before morning.
DC fast and ultrafast charging: ABB DC fast and ultrafast chargers will allow a 'fuel stop'-equivalent for electric vehicles, charging the car in the shortest possible time. Combined with the latest battery technologies, we develop solutions that could allow a full recharge in less than five minutes.
ABB powering the railways: ABB is a world supplier of leading-edge technology to the rail industry. With a long history of providing reliable and innovative solutions, ABB has demonstrated superior capabilities in manufacturing all the subsystems and components being part of urban, inter-city and high-speed rail systems. ABB portfolio includes traction equipments (converters, motors, transformers), LV components, semiconductors, auxiliary converters and battery chargers for rolling stock applications and complete trackside traction power supply systems, MV switchgear, signaling, control and communication for rail infrastructure.
Charging the future: The company Absaar, from Altforweiler in Germany, manufactures battery recharging devices for the entire motor vehicle sector, true to its motto of "the reloading company"
Absaar can be proud of the fact that they have been developing this field for the past 40 years and are amongst the few companies that in this day and age still produce "Quality made in Germany".
Over the last 4 decades, they have manufactured hundreds of different models covering all the different requirements of the consumer and professional user, regardless of whether it was for the motorcycle, automobile, bus, truck, boat or any other sector. Absaar can provide the right model for each application.
For Absaar, "Quality made in Germany" isn't just a slogan. Absaar offers the qualitative opposite of the cheap products of lower quality that flood the market nowadays.
Components as well as the actual chargers are all manufactured in Altforweiler from high-quality raw materials. Absaar produces almost 100% of the components used in the charger itself, whether it be the rubber feet, the plastic housing or even the transformers. Even the tiny needles on the ampere meter are produced in-house.
Absaar didn't only make a simple standard charger for the "Rinspeed UC?" the internal development department was also responsible for the development of a highly-innovative Lithium-Ion charger. This charger reduces charging time significantly whilst still meeting all relevant safety standards for this battery type.
At the same time, Absaar let it be known that it would foster this development to reduce even further the charging time on this type of battery.
The optimization and perfection of charging time is one of the most important goals for future progress, and thanks to their high energy absorption capacity, Lithium-Ion batteries offer far more possibilities than traditional lead-acid batteries.
This innovation, the constant strides forward made in further development plus investment in its own development department, are the reasons why Absaar is still ranked as a market leader after forty years in battery charging technology.
A get together for concerning automotive future - At Rinspeed and AEZ interests go hand in hand
AEZ and Rinspeed - at this year's Geneva Motor Show their relationship finally develops into a story of success. This is as the Austria producer of light-alloy wheels and the Swiss car manufacturer are cooperating with each other for the fourth year in a row. This time AEZ has contributed the eye-catching 17-inch "forged motorsport blank" wheels to the UC? mobility concept. They impress with their cool graphite-colored coating and front-polishing, 32 graceful spokes and above all with their exceedingly low weight of six kilograms per alloy.
Both companies share a pronounced interest in innovation. This cooperation provides positive synergy effects. A modern electric vehicle like the "UC?" in particular profits from the tireless work of the AEZ technicians in weight optimization. This pursuit for perfection is, of course, also reflected in the product range: for example AEZ offers the models Nemesis, Forge A and Xylo with the newly developed Lite tec weight reduction technology. The outstanding quality of all alloys is guaranteed by the in-house production in Germany.
Environmentally-friendliness is the catchphrase of the moment in the automobile industry. Studies by Rinspeed show however, that sustainable car construction is not just an empty phrase taken out of marketing manuals. This was also underlined by the previous models eXasis, sQuba and the iChange, which each demonstrated an economically sensible move. AEZ is proud that it has been able to make an important contribution towards the realization of each of these visions with its "Made in Germany" quality light-alloy wheels. Many more cooperative projects with innovative ideas may follow.