A manufacturer of specialty electric vehicles for airport ground support operations needed to replace the brushed DC wiper motor in their next-generation platform, and the requirements went significantly beyond what a standard automotive wiper motor could satisfy.
A manufacturer of specialty electric vehicles for airport ground support operations needed to replace the brushed DC wiper motor in their next-generation platform, and the requirements went significantly beyond what a standard automotive wiper motor could satisfy.
Airport ground support vehicles operate continuously in RF-dense environments: within 50 meters of active radar systems, VHF/UHF radio equipment, and aircraft avionics ground test equipment. Standard brushed DC wiper motors generate brush-commutation EMI that, even with standard suppression, could not meet the airport operator's RF emissions requirements for ground support equipment operating near aircraft.
The EMI requirement was absolute: the wiper system needed to meet DO-160G Category M conducted and radiated emissions limits, a standard derived from aircraft electronics certification.
The second requirement was service life. The OEM was positioning their next platform as a 10-year, low-maintenance system. The wiper motor needed to be validated for 500,000 wiper cycles, equivalent to approximately 500,000 miles of operation in the airport's 24/7 usage pattern.
A third constraint: the vehicle's 48V DC architecture meant standard 12V automotive wiper systems required a voltage adaptation layer that added cost, failure modes, and packaging complexity the OEM wanted to avoid.
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TelcoMotion's approach began with the EMI constraint, treating it as the primary design driver rather than a post-design filter.
Motor Architecture: A BLDC motor with sinusoidal FOC commutation was specified. Unlike trapezoidal-commutated BLDC or brushed DC motors, sinusoidal FOC produces smooth, continuous torque with no commutation switching transients, eliminating the primary EMI source at the motor level.
EMI Suppression Architecture: The integrated motor controller was designed with a multi-stage EMI filter on the 48V power input, common-mode choke on motor phase outputs, and a shielded motor cable with 360-degree termination at both ends. The motor housing was specified in cast aluminum with an EMI-tight cover plate. Total system radiated emissions measured in pre-compliance testing: 12 dB below DO-160G Category M limits.
48V Native Design: The motor and controller were specified natively for 48V operation, eliminating DC-DC conversion. This reduced system packaging volume and improved efficiency by approximately 8% versus a 12V system running from a 48V bus through a converter.
Wiper Mechanism Adaptation: TelcoMotion engineered the motor's output torque and speed profile to match the existing wiper mechanism's linkage geometry, avoiding a wiper arm redesign. Position sensing was implemented via integrated Hall sensors providing wiper park-position detection natively.
Life Validation: A 600,000-cycle accelerated life test was conducted. Post-test measurements: torque output within 2% of baseline.
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